Skip to main content

Full text of "Ozanam in his correspondence"

See other formats 


OZANAM     IN     HIS 
CORRESPONDENCE 


PRINTED  AND  BOUND 
BY  JOHN  ENGLISH  &  CO. 
WEXFORD  ::  IRELAND 


OZANAM 

IN    HIS    CORRESPONDENCE 


BY 

THE  RIGHT  REVEREND  MONSIGNOR  BAUNARD 


TRANSLATED  BY 
A  MEMBER   OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF   IRELAND 

OF 
THE    SOCIETY    OF    ST.    VINCENT   DE    PAUL 


NEW  YORK,  CINCINNATI,  CHICAGO 

BENZIGER     BROTHERS 

PRINTERS    TO    THE    HOLY   APOSTOLIC   SEE 


DEDICATION. 

"Oo  Cum  5t6ipe  "O6 

-A^uf 

te 


DECLARATION. 


I  declare  that,  in  attributing  in  this  Life,  the  title  of  saint  to  persons 
whom  the  Church  has  not  raised  to  the  dignity  of  the  altar,  I  only 
use  it  conformably  to  the  Decrees  of  Urbain  VIII,  dated  I3th  March, 
1625  and  5th  June,  1631.  / 

I  declare,  moreover,  that  I  submit  this  work  and  myself  to  the 
judgment  of  the  Holy  See,  disavowing  beforehand,  publicly  and  sin 
cerely,  everything  that  would  not  be  in  conformity  with  the  teaching 
of  the  Holy  Church,  my  Mother.  / 

I  desire  to  live  and  die  in  obedience  to  Her.  / 


Obstat: 

MICHAEL  CRONIN, 

Censor  Theol.  Deputat. 


"poUst: 

^  EDUARDUS, 

Archiep.  Dublinensit 
HibcrnicB  Prim  as 


Dublin!,  die  quarta  Julii,  1925. 


IX 

INDEX 


Author's  Preface    ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  p.  xv 


CHAPTER  I. 
EARLY  YEARS,  1813-29.  pp.  1-12 

Ancestors,  Father. — Mother. — Benoit  Ozanam. — The  Jew,  Samuel  Ozanam. — 
The  Christian  Doctor. — The  Child, — College  first  Communion.— Crisis  of 
Doubt.— The  Abbe  Noirot. 

CHAPTER  II. 
FIRST  LITERARY  EFFORTS,  1830-31.  pp.   13-25 

A  Lawyer's  Clerk. — Faith  vindicated. — A  friend,  Leonce  Curnier,— July,  1830. 
— "  The  Bee." — Reflexions  sur  la  doctrine  de  Saint  Simon. — Letters  from 
Lamartine  and  from  Chateaubriand. — La  Demonstration  du  Chnstianisme. — 
Orthodoxy. 

CHAPTER  III. 
PARIS.— CATHOLIC  SOCIAL  ACTION.  1831-33.  pp.  26-40 

Isolation  in  Paris.— Dangers  of  a  boarding-house.— The  great  Ampere. — At 
Chateaubriand's  house. — Two  philosophies. — Groups  of  young  men,  M.  Bailly. 
— Conference  of  History. — Montalembert's  salon. — Charity  and  Cholera  — 
The  Abbe  Marduel. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
DEFENCE  OF  TRUTH,  1832-34.  pp.  41-55 

Lyons  friends,  Lallier,  Lamache. — Protests  at  Sorbonne  lectures. — Letter  to 
M.  Jouffroy. — The  Abbe"  Gerbet's  Conferences. — Petition  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris.— Conferences  in  Notre  Dame  ? — Visit  to  Lacordaire. — Subscription 
to  the  Catholic  University  of  Lou  vain. 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  CONFERENCE  OF  HISTORY.  pp.  66-66 

The  Open  Conference.— Defence  of  the  Church  by  Speech.— In  the  Press,  La 
Tribune,  La  Revue  contemporaine. — Saint  Simonians. — L'Ami  de  la  Religion, 
M.  Picot. — Barren  words. — Charitable  action. — "  Let  us  go  to  the  Poor." 


x  INDEX 

CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  CONFERENCE  OF  CHARITY.  pp.  67-76 

The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. — M.  Bailly,  President. — Ozanam,  Founder. 

. The  beginning. — Sister  Rosalie. — Ozanam  with  his  poor. — Corpus  Christi 

at  Nanterre. — Ampere  and  Ozanam. — Gustave  de  la  Noue. — Expansion. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
ORIENTATION,  1834.  pp.  77-90 

First  Italian  trip. — Rome. — Law  or  Literature. — Literary  vocation. — The 
struggle:  "  To  walk  between  God  and  Death."—].  J.  Ampere. — Conferences 
in  Stanislaus  College. — Self-sacrifice  to  Law.— Called  to  the  Bar.— Return 
to  Paris  for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  YOUNG  SOUL  OF  THE  APOSTLE.      1835.  pp.  91-105 

Auguste  Le  Taillandier. — Patron,  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.— Sub-division  of  the 
Conference.— Aim  of  the  Society,  through  and  for  youth.— Salvation  of  souls. 

Jesus  Christ  in  the  Poor. — "Devotion  to  Martyrdom." — Lacordaire  at  Notre 

Dame. A  Catholic  Society  of  Fine  Arts. — Bachelor  of  Arts.— Law  Examina 
tion. — His  mother  ill. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LYONS    AND    PARIS,    1835-36.  pp.   106-119 

Trip    to    Lyons.— Lyons    and    Cholera.— Les   deux    chanceliets   d'Angleterre- 
Paris,  Ozanam  and  Lallier. — Rule  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.- 
Doctor    of    Laws. — Anguish  as  to    his  career. — Farewells   at    Paris  to    the 
Society. — Ampere's  death. 

CHAPTER  X. 

LYONS  CONFERENCE,  1836.  pp.  120-130 

At  Monceaux  with  Lamartine.— Jocelyn  on  the  Index. — Lamartine  on  Ozanam. 
—First    Lyons    Conference.— Ozanam's    Report.— Opposition    to    the    Con 
ference.— Growth.— Centre  for  soldiers.—"  To  be  saints  to  make  saints.   - 
Letters   to    Lallier,    Secretary    General. — Circular-letters. — Humility. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  BAR,  1837.  pp.   131-143 

Ozanam's  prejudice  against  abuses.— The  defence  of  the  poor.— Candidature  for 
a  Law  Chair.— His  father's  death.— Embarrassments.— Works,  Des  Biens  de 
I'Eglise  against  Michelet. — Scriptural  controversy — Annals  of  the  Propaga 
tion  of  the  Faith. — The  case  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne. 


INDEX  xi 

CHAPTER  XII. 
DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  LITERATURE,  1839.         pp.  144-158 

Dante  in  the  Disputation  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. — The  Divine  Comedy : 
Philosophy  and  Poetry. — The  action  of  the  Poem,  its  moral. — Life  of  Dante  : 
Beatrice. — The  Poem  of  Expiation. — Its  Symbolism. — Roman  Orthodoxy. 
— Elaboration. — Proof — "  One  cannot  be  more  eloquent  than  that." — His 
mother's  death. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
LAW  OF  COMMERCE.— HIS  VOCATION   1839-40.       pp.   159-174 

The  Cloister  or  the  world. — Protestantism  and  Liberty. — Vocation  for  apostolate. 
— The  Friar  Preachers  and  Lacordaire. — Lacordaire  in  Lyons. — General 
Meetings  of  the  Society. — Opening  of  the  Course  of  the  Law  of  Commerce. — 
Special  higher  instruction. — Candidature  for  a  Chair  of  Literature. — Pro 
fession  of  Catholic  belief. — Concursus  for  the  Higher  Degree  in  Foreign 
Literature. — First  in  the  Competition. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

MARRIAGE,  1841.  pp.    175-188 

Voyage  for  research  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine. — Young  Belgium. — A  virgin 
heart. — Ideal  of  a  spouse. — His  isolation. — The  Interview. — Mmlle. 
Soulacroix. — Introduction,  Engagement,  Question  of  Residence. — Wedding. 
— Honeymoon. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  SORBONNE:  ANCIENT  GERMANY,   1842.      pp.   189-202 

Catholic  awakening. — First  lecture. — The  Niebelungen. — Teutonism  and  Chris 
tianity. — "  The  Holy  Roman  Empire." — Public  anti- religious  spirit. — Rights 
and  duties  of  a  historian. — God  at  the  end  of  all  knowledge. — Barbarian 
Italy. — Preparation  for  the  lecture. — The  Professor  in  the  Chair. — The  escort 
of  students. — A  conquest  for  the  Faith. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
MASTER   AND    DISCIPLES,    1841-43.  pp.  203-215 

Professor  at  Stanislaus  College. — Ozanam  as  Examiner  ;  his  severity. — At  the 
Catholic  Circle. — -Easter  Holy  Communion  in  Notre  Dame. — General  Meeting 
of  the  Society. — Ozanam's  grave  advice. — Episcopal  favour. — 'Devoirs 
litter  air  es  des  Chretiens. — -Religious  polemics. — Approval  of  His  Grace  Arch 
bishop  Affre. — Attacked  by  I'Univers. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  UNIVERSITY.          pp.  216-228 

University  monopoly. — The  courses  of  Michelet,  and  Quinet. — Ozanam's 
refutations. — Correspondant  :  Ozanam  and  Foisset. — Montalembert's  mani 
festo,  Ozanam's  name. — His  rectitude  between  the  two  parties. — M.  Fauriel's 


xii  INDEX 

death. — Promotion,  Ozanam  gets  the  position  without  conditions. — Stanislaus* 
College,  regrets  and  farewells. — Pere  de  Ravignan  at  a  General  Meeting  of  the 
Society. — Disturbance  at  M.  Lenormant's  lectures. — Defended  by  Ozanam. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

HOME.    WORK,    AND    CHARITY,    1841-46.  pp.  229-238 

The  home. — Soulacroix  junior  and  Ozanam. — Paternity. — Lallier,  godfather. — 
Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honour. — The  interior  Christian  :  faith,  poetry,  happi 
ness,  labour. — Resignation  of  M.  Bailly. — M.  Gossin,  President.— Catholic 
Institute. — Serious  illness. — Departure  for  Italy. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

MISSION  TO  ITALY,  1847.  pp.  239-249 

Florence. — Rome. — Pius  IX.,  audience. — Catacombs. — Fraternal  grief. — 
Fetes  and  ovations  to  Pius  IX. — Umbria,  Venice. — Ballanche's  death. 
— Switzerland  :  at  Echallens. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848.  pp.  250-262 

Histoire  des  Girondins. — Pontifical  Policy. — Rome's  dangers  and  hopes. — "  Let 
us  go  over  to  the  Barbarians." — Ozanam  misunderstood. — The  24th 
February. — Profession  of  faith. — Religious  manifestations. — Political  candida 
ture. — Social  action. — "  The  Party  of  Confidence." 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
THE  JUNE  INSURRECTION   1848.  pp.  263-275 

L'Ere  Nouvelle,  (The  New  Era),  Lacordaire. — His  Grace  Archbishop  Affre. — 
Ozanam  on  Divorce. — Ozanam  with  the  Archbishop. — The  Archbishop  at  the 
barricades. — Death  of  M.  Soulacroix. — Destitution  in  Paris. — Society  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  its  trials  and  its  duties. — Cholera. — St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
and  Richelieu. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
"THE    NEW    ERA,"    1848-49.  pp.   276-296 

An  address  :  To  good  people. — Destitution  :  Causes  et  remedies. — Socialism. — 
The  Republic  and  the  Catholic  Party. — Echoes  of  Liberalism. — Lacordaire 
withdraws. — The  split. — For  Venice. — For  Pius  IX. — Statement  of  The 
New  Era,  its  end. — Ozanam  at  Ferney. — The  end  of  the  Republic. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
BELIEF  AND  TOLERATION.  pp.  297-312 

Orthodoxy. — Christian  toleration. — Ozanam  and  dissenters. — Ernest  Havet. 
— Lacordaire ;  "  The  large  number  of  the  elect." — The  two  schools, 


INDEX  xiii 

honey  and  vinegar. — Outburst  of  I'Univers. — Complaint  and  justification 
of  Ozanam. — His  noble  pardon. — The  Liberalism  of  his  correspondence  ? 
— Ozanam  and  the  Syllabus. — The  Napoleonic  Empire. — "  Thy  Kingdom 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
FRANCISCAN   POETS,   Le  Ve  SIECLE.  pp.  313-324 

Francis  of  Assissi. — Blessed  Jacopone  de  Todi. — General  plan  of  Civilisation 
chretienne. — Le  Ve  Siecle. — Sorbonne  course. — Conversion  of  the  Franks. — 
The  Lesson.—"  Sow." 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
BRITTANY,  ENGLAND.— PUBLICATION,   1850-51.     pp.  325-339 

Rest  in  Brittany. — M.  de  La  Villemarque.— The  publication  of  the  V*  Slide  ; 
The  Preface. — The  volume  of  the  Poetes  franciscains  ;  the  Fioretti. — History 
and  Legend. — In  England :  the  Crystal  Palace  and  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul. — Pauperism  and  Anglicanism. — Conferences  at  Dieppe  and  Sceaux. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
INTIMATE  LIFE.  pp.  340-356 

The  Family,  the  daughter's  education. — Piety,  Holy  Scripture,  Christian  home. 
— Elevation  of  the  soul :  God's  will. — Divine  respect  for  the  poor. —  Vie  de 
saint  Eloi. — Council- General  of  the  Society.— Friendships. — Lallier. — The 
painter,  Janmot. — Falconnet. — Nourrisson. — Dufieux. — Cornudet. — Foisset. — 
Lacordaire. — To  Ampere  :  a  letter  of  an  apostle  and  a  brother. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
ILLNESS,  THE  PYRENEES,  1852.  pp.  357-372 

The  last  lecture. — "  I  shall  die  in  your  service." — To  a  friend  in  doubt:  Faith. 
Ill  ;  to  the  South. — Eaux-Bonnes,  Gavarnie,  Betharam. — Two  friends : 
Abbe  Perreyve,  Abbe  Mermillod.— Biarritz. — Bayonne  Conference. — The 
Penitents  of  St.  Bernard. — A  run  to  St.  Sebastian. — Three  days  at  Burgos; 
its  Notre  Dame. — Pelerinage  an  Pays  du  Cid. — Pilgrimage  to  Pouy  ;  The 
Society. — At  Buglosse. — By  the  Corniche  to  Pisa. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
IN   ITALY  ;   WINTER  AT   PISA,    1852-53.  pp.  373-387 

The  Society  in  Florence,  the  Grand  Duchess. — To  the  members  in  Florence. — 
Pisa. — The  masses  of  the  people. — Historical  works. — Elevation  of  the  soul. — 
Tenderness  at  home. — Purgatory  of  sickness. — Sacrifices. — Consolation  : 
the  Psalms.— Le  Li  we  des  Malades.—His  last  Will. 


xiv  INDEX 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
LEGHORN,   LAST  DAYS,   MARSEILLES,    1853.  pp.   388-404 

Leghorn. — The  Conference.— Last  words. — Letter  to  a  Jew. — Academic  pro 
motion. — Poem.  Sur  I'tcueil  de  San  Jacopo. — L'Antignano,  his  visit  to  Con 
ferences,  Pontedera. — Sienna.— Report  to  the  Council- General. — Last  work. 

Collapse.— Farewell  to  his  friends  in  Lyons. — Two  members  of  the  Society, 
the  brothers  Bevilacqua. — The  Mass  on  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption.— 
Farewell  to  L'  Antignano. — The  crossing.— Marseilles  ;  A  holy  death. 

EPILOGUE. 

THE  LITERARY  AND  CHARITABLE  LEGACY.        pp.  405-417 

Sympathy  and  hopes  of  heaven  for  the  deceased. — The  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of 
Literature,  Leclerc. — De  La  Villemarque.— Brothers  in  the  Society  — Monta- 
lembert.— The  Abbe  Perreyve.— Rev»Pere  de  Villefort.— President  Baudon  — 
M.  Cornudet.— Lallier.— M.  Guizot.— The  Bishops.— Pius  IX  to  Madame 


Ozanam. 


His  legacy.— Literary  work.— Edition  of  his  complete  works.— Bordin 
Prize. — M.  Villemain.— Charitable  work.— Rev.  Pere  Monsabre.— Multiplica 
tion  of  Conferences.— Golden  Jubilee  of  the  Society.— The  Encyclical  of  Leo 
XIII.— Society  statistics.— Society  Orthodoxy.— An  urgent  social  necessity. 


APPENDIX. 


Two  unpublished  letters  of  Ozanam  to  his  mother.— Like  letter  of  Ozanam  to 
M.  Lucien  Perret. — Five  letters  of  Ozanam  to  his  brother  Charles.— Note  on 
the  number  of  the  first  members  of  the  first  Conference. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

The  traditional  Mass  was  celebrated  in  the  crypt  of  the  Carmelite 
Church,  rue  de  Vaugirard,  on  the  loth  April,  1910,  the  second  Sunday 
after  Easter,  the  occasion  being  the  Feast-day  and  the  date  of  the 
annual  general  meeting  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in  Paris. 
The  Council  General  of  the  Society  and  a  large  number  of  members 
were  present.  / 

The  historic  crypt  contains  the  body  of  Frederick  Ozanam,  which 
has  lain  there  under  a  simple  monument  since  1853.  -' The  Abbe 
Guibert,  a  priest  of  St.  Sulpice,  Superior  of  the  ancient  ecclesiastical 
House  of  Carmelites,  which  is  now  the  Seminary  of  the  Catholic 
Institute,  preached  a  sermon  appropriate  to  the  occasion  and  to 
the  place.  /  He  first  did  honour  to  the  name  of  the  first  patron  of 
the  Society,  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  He  then  proceeded  to  refer  to 
the  second,  whom  the  place  itself  brought  to  the  minds  of  all. 
Frederick  Ozanam  became  then,  and  continued  to  be,  the  subject  of 
his  address.  / 

The  priest  spoke  of  him  not  only  "  as  a  model  to  be  imitated,  and 
a  patron  to  be  honored,  but  already  a  protector  to  be  invoked,  if  not 
in  public,  at  least  in  the  secret  of  one's  heart."/  He  honoured  him 
as  "  the  principal  founder  of  the  Society,  a  fact  which  has  been  ac 
credited  to  him  already  by  tradition,  the  universal  voice  which  is  not-'v 
deceived."/  He    expressed    the   general  desire    of   Conferences   for 
the  day  on  which,  with  the  sanction  of  the  Church,  it  would  be  given 
to  them  to  worship  him  solemnly  in  public.  /  Examining  the  condi-  - 
tions  required  by  the  Church  for  such  elevation,  the  venerable  preacher 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  they  were  admirably  fulfilled  by  the  life 
and  the  doctrine  and  the  good  works  of  that  just  man  ;  by  a  life  of 
piety  and  innocence,  by  a  doctrine  of  propaganda  of  faith  ;  by  good 
works  of  corporal  and  spiritual  amelioration,  which  have  together 
made  him  an  incomparable  apostle  of  truth  and  charity  in  the  world./ 
The  love  of  God  was  his  principle,  the  salvation  of  souls  his  aim./ 


xvi  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

The  same  address  did  not  hesitate  to  describe  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  as  "  an  Association  of  piety  no  less  than  a  Congregation  of 
Charity."/ 

"  Now,"  the  preacher  asks  himself,  "  when,  within  the  Church,  a 
Christian  Society  has  sent  its  roots  deep  down  into  souls,  and  spread 
afar  its  branches  laden  with  fruit ;  when  it  draws  its  sap  from  a  pure 
and  intense  religious  life,  is  one  not  right  in  concluding  that  that 
Society  is  of  God,  that  the  heart  from  which  it  sprang  was  filled  with 
God,  and  that  the  brow  of  the  founder  is  worthy  to  bear  the  aureola  ? 
The  vitality  and  the  efficacy  of  his  action  are  the  guarantee  and  the 
consecration  of  his  virtues./ 

"  Were  those  Christian  virtues  practised  by  Ozanam  in  the  heroic 
degree  ?  The  Church  will  decide  that.  But  it  is  for  us,  gentlemen, 
to  bring  his  cause  before  Her.  We  may  be  sure  that  it  will  be  examined 
with  the  liveliest  sympathy."/ 

The  sermon  closed  with  two  requests.  One  that  the  life  of  our 
Founder  should  be  more  widely  studied  and  more  deeply  meditated 
on.  The  second,  that  a  greater  part  of  all  future  biographies  should  be 
devoted  to  the  interior,  Christian,  apostolic  features  of  that  life ;  in 
a  word,  to  the  "  eminent  virtues  of  that  true  saint."/ 

It  is  in  answer  to  that  wish,  with  which  the  Council  General  and  the 
meeting  associated  themselves,  that  the  present  work  was  undertaken.  / 

Why  was  I,  in  my  old  age,  selected  as  the  author  of  this  work  ? 
It  is  not  for  me  to  say.  I  have  only  to  apologise  for  demurring  too 
long  to  insistent  appeals.  While  recognising  the  great  honour  which 
was  paid  me,  I  looked  at  the  task  with  dismay.  I  was  in  my  eighty- 
third  year.  I  had  just  published  my  last  work,  Le  Vieillard.  I  had 
only  just  completed  the  payment  of  a  great  debt  of  admiration  and 
gratitude  in  Les  deux  Frhes.  f  Was  not  that  the  close  of  my  work  ? 
Did  I  not  feel  that  I  had  come  to  the  end  of  my  strength  ?  Was  this 
eleventh  hour  of  my  life  the  time  to  undertake  such  a  work  ?  Was 
I  about  to  open  a  new  furrow  which  I  should,  in  all  probability,  never 
close  ?/ 

Therefore  I  sought  to  be  excused What  was  then  the 

incentive  which  induced  me  to  give  way,  to  submit  my  weary  head, 
first  with  resignation  and  then  with  joy,  to  the  yoke  of  obedience, 
which  I  now  recognised  to  be  sweet  and  the  burden  thereof  light  ?  / 

In  the  first  place,  I  loved  Ozanam  from  my  early  youth.  Was  not 
he,  whose  life  I  was  about  to  write,  in  Pere  Guibert's  words,  "  The 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  xvii 

great  Catholic  of  his  age  ?"  In  the  second  place,  I  loved  the  Society 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  which  can  do  so  much  for  the  Church  to-day, 
by  its  fidelity  to  the  spirit  and  to  the  grace  which  God  had  deposited 
in  that  Vessel  of  election.  /  Again,  I  loved  the  young  men  of  the  schools, 
whom  I  served  for  sixty  years,  and  of  whom  Ozanam  was  a  perfect 
model.  /  Lastly,  shall  I  admit  it,  the  selfish  thought  of  passing  a  year, 
and  that  perhaps  my  last,  with  such  a  soul,  such  a  mind,  such  a  heart, 
in  continuous  communion  with  him,  enlightening  my  gloom,  stimulat 
ing  my  tepidity,  consoling  my  loneliness,  detaching  me  from  this 
earth,  and  even,  giving  me  advance  glimpses  of  heaven  !  / .  .  .  . 
That  prospect  won  the  day.  Could  I  shut  my  door  to  that  guest, 
to  such  a  friend  ?  No,  he  shall  be  welcome.  The  book  shall  be 
written,  and  written  with  love.  It  shall  be  at  least  begun  ;  finished, 
if  I  can.  But  that  is  in  God's  hands.  Great  and  good  Ozanam,  enter  ! 

I  entertain  the  same  wish  for  those  who  will  read  this  book,  that 
they  may  live  intimately  and  constantly  with  him.  / 

Many  have  written  about  Frederick  Ozanam  before  me.  I  place 
in  the  forefront  his  brother,  the  missionary.  He  has,  in  his  incomplete 
biography,  given  us  a  store-house  of  domestic  particulars  which  no 
other  could  have  furnished.  /  Next  come  the  two  illustrious  friends, 
Lacordaire  and  Ampere,  each  of  whom  has  woven  a  beautiful  crown, 
with  which  to  adorn  Ozanam's  brow;  Lacordaire  with  eloquence, 
Ampere  with  literary  charm,  both  with  love./  Many  other  friends 
have  written  obituary  notices  or  literary  appreciations :  M.  de  la  Ville- 
marque,  Dr.  Dufresne  of  Geneva,  chosen  disciples  in  Stanislaus  College 
or  in  the  Sorbonne,  M.  Caro,  the  Abbe  Perreyve,  M.  Heinrich,  M. 
Maxime  de  Montrond,  M.  Urbain  Legeay  his  former  master,  a 
member  of  the  Society,  the  holy  Comte  de  Lambel,  his  intimate 
friend  Dufieux,  etc.,  .f .  . 

.  The  important  work  of  M.  Charles  Huit,  Professor  in  the  Catholic 
Institute  of  Paris,  appeared  later,  published  under  the  auspices  of 
Cardinal  Perraud.  There  is  an  original  work  on  La  Jeunesse  d' Ozanam, 
written  by  M.  Leonce  Curnier,  which  was  crowned  by  the  Academy. 
There  is  also  a  biographical  and  critical  review  written  by  M.  Bernard 
Faulquier,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul,  with  a  preface  from  the  hand  of  Monsignor  Baudrillart.  / 

I  note  particularly  the  Frederick  Ozanam  of  Kathleen  O'Meara, 
who  was  an  Irishwoman,  and  in  whose  accounts  I  find  with  pleasure 
traces  of  conversation  with  Ozanam's  widow.  / 


xviii  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

A  short  biography  comes  from  Canada.  A  moral  study  on  Ozanam's 
correspondence  comes  to  us  from  a  Protestant  source  !  It  is  the 
work  of  a  Protestant  Pietist  lady  of  Geneva,  Madame  Humbert,  who 
was  edified  and  inspired  by  the  virtue  and  by  the  greatness  of  soul 
which  she  found  in  his  correspondence.  Then  there  are  literary  ap 
preciations,  such  as  the  excellent  one  by  M.  Poulin,  £loge  d'Ozanam, 
which  was  crowned  in  the  Floral  Fetes  in  Toulouse,  etc.  / 

I  desire  to  mention  all  such,  or  nearly  all,  because  I  am  indebted 
to  all,  though  in  a  different  degree  ;  and  because  all  are  unanimous 
in  venerating  and  admiring  that  outstanding  superiority  of  virtue, 
thus  anticipating  in  their  hearts  his  religious  worship.  / 

But  I  felt  that  those  excellent  productions,  biographies,  notices, 
articles,  detached  studies,  while  useful  to  consult,  were  yet  only  sketches, 
and  that  the  complete  history  of  Ozanam  was  yet  to  be  written./  If, 
as  the  priest  had  said  at  his  tomb,  the  exterior  man,  the  man  of  science, 
the  author,  has  left  an  illustrious  name  ;  if  even  the  man  of  good  works 
has  left  a  memory  which  has  been  blessed  the  world  over  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  the  interior  man,  the  moral  and  religious  man,  the  man 
of  God,  has  not  yet  been  adequately  presented  to  the  public. /The 
time  is  then  come  to  write  this  history,  the  history  of  his  soul, — that 
great  soul  ! — and  to  show  it  in  each  and  all  the  acts  of  a  life  which  it 
inspired  and  animated.  /  We  have  that  soul  still  living  in  his  speech. 
Ozanam  has  left  it  immortal  in  his  works  and  in  his  correspondence. 
If  the  interior  life  of  the  man  is  yet  to  be  written,  it  has  no  longer  to 
be  sought  for,  it  still  exists  in  power  and  in  matter  There  we 
shall  find  it./ 

We  shall  find  the  interior  Ozanam  firstly  in  his  lectures.  Ozanam's 
soul  is  not  abstracted  from,  nor  disinterested  in  the  subject 
matter  of  his  instruction./  He  is  there  with  all  his  faculties  of  judg 
ment,  admiration  and  disapproval,  of  benediction  and  condemnation. 
He  is  to  be  seen  in  the  beautiful  moral  deductions  which  he  draws, 
in  the  instruction  which  he  provides  for  the  audience  and  the  readers  ; 
in  his  realistic  treatment,  in  the  practical  application  of  his  lectures 
to  his  age  and  his  country,  in  the  homage  which  he  makes  all  times  and 
places  pay  to  the  Eternal  King  ;  sometimes  too,  in  the  melancholy  in 
trospection  on  his  life,  death,  affections,  sufferings,  which  furnish  the 
pathos  of  his  works.  / 

But  if  the  life  and  soul  of  Ozanam  are  to  be  seen  in  his  written 
works,  his  correspondence  is,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  filled  to  over- 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  xix 

flowing  with  them./  His  whole  existence,  his  family  life,  his  friend 
ships,  his  life  of  action,  are  there  reconstituted  in  the  natural  sequence 
of  the  events,  in  their  order  of  date,  with  every  surrounding  circum 
stance  of  time  and  place,  in  their  true  sense  and  colour.  /  Likewise, 
his  whole  soul  is  manifested  there,  showing  its  development  in  each 
phase  of  its  existence.  /  First  of  his  youth  :  noble  aspirations,  grandiose 
designs,  the  torture  occasioned  by  a  choice  of  life,  the  call,  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  hope  and  despondency,  the  sacred  intoxication  of  Science 
and  Faith.  /Then  of  his  mature  age  :  his  struggles  on  behalf  of  purity, 
his  pure  love,  his  enthusiasm  for  Truth  and  Charity,  his  all-conquering 
zeal,  his  independence  of  conscience,  his  delicacy  of  heart,  the  cruel 
deception  and  false  wounds  which  he  had  to  suffer./  Lastly,  the  de 
cline,  not  of  age,  but  of  premature  life  :  a  tireless  and  sanctified  activity, 
a  crucifixion  to  his  pen,  to  his  professorial  chair,  which  Lacordaire 
had  indicated  to  him.  Finally,  the  consummation,  the  sacrifice : 
supernatural  suffering,  the  tranquil  heroism  of  sublime  sacrifice./  To 
bloom,  to  ripen,  to  die  ;  such  would  be  the  epigraph  of  this  book,  as 
it  is  the  plan  and  the  development  of  that  crowded,  elevated  and 
brief  span  of  life  !  / 

The  greater  part  of  that  Correspondence  has  been  published.  Some 
other  letters  have  been  privately  shown  to  me  by  her  who  has  received 
the  treasure  as  an  inheritance  and  who  guards  them  religiously  as  a 
father's  relics.*/  She  is  to  be  thanked  for  that./  Some  other  letters, 
up  to  then  un-edited,  have  fortunately  been  found. f  /  There  is  in  all 
a  collection  of  some  two  hundred  letters,  which  are  the  whole  basis 
of  this  work,  the  warp  and  woof  of  the  piece.  All  my  Ozanam  is 
there  and  always  there,  not  only  his  traces,  but  his  voice,  his  speech, 
his  very  life  ;  his  life  in  all  its  truth,  his  speech  in  all  its  frankness, 
his  voice  breathing  its  most  beautiful  accents,  letters  which  are  the 
most  beautiful  of  his  works  because  they  resemble  him  most  closely. 
It  is  he  who  is  speaking  and  writing,  not  I,  who  have  provided  only 
the  wire  for  this  wreath  of  choice  blooms.  Nobody,  least  of  all  the 
writer,  will  lose  by  that./ 

What  is  then  the  figure  which,  partly  hidden  from  our  eyes,  rises 

*  Madame  Laurent  Laporte  Ozanam  died  on  the  26th  June,  1911,  immediately 
after  the  publication  of  this  Life,  to  which  she  had  contributed  greatly,  and  which 
brought  her  great  joy.  She  died,  alas  !  before  the  Centenary  celebration  of  her 
father,  which  would  have  been  a  very  dear  pleasure  to  her.  / 

t  Other  such  letters,  which  have  since  come  to  light,  are  published  in 
the  Appendix  (Translator's  note) .  / 


xx  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

over  the  horizon  at  this  dark  hour  to  light  our  way  with  its  gentle 
radiance  ?  "  Like  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Ozanam  was  an  apostle  :  an 
apostle  of  Truth,  an  apostle  of  Charity."  Everything  is  comprised 
in  those  words,  spoken  in  the  crypt  of  the  Carmelites.  / 

J  ""  Apostle  of  Truth,  that  is  of  Catholic  Truth  which  he  always  under 
took  to  defend.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  Ozanam  drew  up  his  plan  ; 
at  eighteen  he  opened  the  attack  against  Saint  Simonism  ;  at  twenty 
he  raised  the  standard  in  the  Sorbonne  against  the  anti-Catholicity 
of  Jouffroy  ;  at  twenty-one  he  waited  on  the  Archbishop  of  Paris 
to  appeal  for  modern  instruction  in  Notre  Dame  ;  at  thirty  he  en 
throned  Truth  with  eloquence  in  a  professorial  chair  in  the  Sorbonne.* 
He  devoted  himself  to  the  defence  of  Truth  up  to  the  last  breath  of 
his  breaking  body  :  "Our  life  belongs  to  you,  gentlemen.  As  for  me, 

—  if  I  die,  it  will  be  in  your  service."    That  was  his  farewell./ 

Apostle  of  Charity.  At  twenty  years  of  age  he  inaugurated  with 
a  few  students  the  first  Conference  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul :  "  Let  us 
go  to  the  poor."/  From  Paris,  from  Lyons,  he  extended  the  benefit 
to  France,  later  to  both  hemispheres  :  "  I  wish,"  he  said,  "  to  enfold 

^the  whole  world  with  a  net-work  of  charity."/  Before  closing  his 
eyes  for  ever  in  this  world  he  could  count  two  thousand  such  centres 
of  charity,  of  which  the  Lord  has  said:  "  I  came  to  bring  light  into 
the  world  ;  what  can  I  desire  but  that  it  should  shine  everywhere  ?"/ 
Less  than  a  month  before  his  death  he  dragged  his  broken  frame  from 
Leghorn  to  Sienna  to  make  straight  the  path  for  a  little  band  of 
students,  his  last  creation.  Having  accomplished  that,  he  embarked 
to  see  France  and  die.  / 

j^    He  died  at  forty.     He  had  given  everything  to  God  by  a  solemn 
act :  "  I     come,  Lord."       He    is    to    be    seen    during    a  long  year, 
dragging  himself,  stumbling  from  one  station  to  another  of  his  Calvary./ 
As  an  ailing  son  will  seek  the  comfort  of  his  mother,  he  is  to  be  seen 
by  turns  at  the  feet  of  Our  Lady  of  Burgos,  Our  Lady  of  Betharam, 

-  Our  Lady  of  Buglosse,  Our  Lady  of  Pisa,  and  finally  resting  at  the 
feet  of  Our  Lady  de  la  Garde.  /  It  was  there  that  the  Queen  of  Heaven 
awaited  him,  to  raise  him  from  his  death-bed  and  to  take  him  up 
beside  Her  into  the  Mansion  of  the  Heavenly  Father.  /  That  was  on 

ff  -*•  *  M.  Guibert  adds  :  "  Such  was  his  exactitude  of  conscience  that,  in  all  questions 
touching  faith,  the  Church  had  no  son  more  submissive  to  her  directions.  If 
he  shared  certain  liberal  ideas  of  his  time,  it  was  through  the  very  nobility  of 
his  heart  and  through  the  very  love  that  he  bore  to  religion  and  to  his  brethren, 
not  through  any  deviation  whatever  from  the  teaching  of  the  Church,  f 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE  xxi 

the  Feast  of  her  Nativity,  on  the  8th  September,  1853.  /  I  do  not  —^ 
know  anything  grander  or  greater  than  that  dolorous  pilgrimage  of  a 
heart  sustained  by  the  spirit  of  a  soul  filled  with  Heaven  which  it  was 
entering.    There  is  no  more  divine  picture  in  the  history  of  the  saints./-u 

Let  us  not  hastily  call  him  by  that  great  name.  Let  us  write  the 
life  just  as  it  was,  let  us  show  the  man  just  as  he  existed,  under  the 
earthly  conditions  of  our  mortality,  without  any  other  interest  than 
that  of  Truth.  Ozanam  would  not  have  tolerated  anything  else.y 
Let  us  not  celebrate  his  virtues,  let  us  simply  say  what  they  were. 
Let  us  not  praise  his  thoughts,  let  us  unfold  them.  /  Let  us  not  pro 
claim  Blessed  that  man  of  mercy,  of  peace,  of  meekness,  who  hungered  -•' 
and  thirsted  for  justice  ;  but  let  us  recall  his  works  of  mercy,  of 
clemency,  of  meekness,  of  justice  and  of  peace.  /  Let  us  not  salute 
him  prematurely  as  a  Confessor  of  Faith  ;  let  us  see  how  he  confessed 
it  before  friends  and  enemies.  /  Let  us  not  award  him  the  martyr's 
crown,  let  us  see  how  he  suffered  for  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  and  died 
in  the  burning  love  of  the  Heart  of  Him  of  Whom  he  said  :  "  How 
could  I  fear  Him  ?  I  love  Him  so  much."/ 

After  that  there  remains  for  us  silence  and  prayer  !  "  Let  us  not 
renounce  for  one  moment  our  ambition  in  his  regard.  But  let  us  *> 
cherish  it  by  multiplying  the  Associations  which  he  promoted,  and 
by  practising  the  virtues  that  distinguished  him.  /  Then,  in  full  con 
fidence,  let  us  allow  the  Church  to  do  its  own  work,  in  its  wisdom  and 
in  its  own  good  time.  Did  not  the  preacher  in  the  crypt  assure  us, 
"  that  if  the  cause  of  the  pious  founder  were  taken  to  Rome,  it 
would  be  examined  with  the  liveliest  sympathy."  / 

That  is  no  longer  in  doubt  after  the  many  marks  of  favour  which 
the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  has  received  in  later  years  from 
His  Holiness  Pius  X.  It  is  scarcely  three  years,  the  nth  April, 
1909,  since  a  pilgrimage  of  the  Conferences  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
arrived  in  Rome  at  the  same  time  as  the  Roman  ceremonies  of  the 
Beatification  of  Joan  of  Arc  were  being  celebrated.  /The  official  organ  -  A* 
of  the  Vatican,  L'Osservatore  Romano,  seized  the  opportunity  to  join 
Ozanam 's  name  in  the  celebrations  under  the  heading  :  Dopo  cento 
anni  :  Giovanna  d'Arco,  Frederico  Ozanam.  One  hundred  years  after  : 
Joan  of  Arc  and  Frederick  Ozanam./  It  continued  :  "  It  is  not  a  mere 
fortuitous  coincidence  that  links  up  the  celebrations  in  honour  of  the 
Blessed  Joan  of  Arc  with  those  of  the  approaching  Centenary  celebra 
tion  of  the  birth  of  Frederick  Ozanam,  one  of  the  heroes  and  apostles 


xxii  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

of  Charity  in  France.  /  An  intimate  bond  unites  the  celebrations  of 
those  two  glorious  children  of  France,  etc."  /  The  Bulletin  of  the 
Society  noted  the  comments  of  I'Osservatore,  as  follows  :  "It  is  the 
first  time,  we  believe,  that  our  venerated  Founder  has  been  placed  side 
by  side  with  a  Blessed  on  the  altars.  Are  we  to  see  in  that  a  fore 
taste  of  a  higher  and  purer  glory  than  that  of  earthly  renown  ?"/ 

On  the  i6th  April,  in  the  same  year,  the  name  of  Ozanam  was 
associated  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  himself  with  that  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  in  regard  to  an  Association,  which  he  regarded  as  the  younger 
sister  of  the  second  religious  family  of  the  great  Founder.  /  His  Holiness 
spoke  as  follows  : 

"  Vincent  de  Paul,  who  lives  in  the  Congregation  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Mission,  and  in  the  incomparable  Sisters  of  Charity,  lives  in  our 
day  in  the  admirable  Association  of  Conferences,  the  inheritors  of 
his  faith,  of  his  charity,  and  of  his  apostolic  spirit.  /  It  is  a  new 
generation,  an  unexpected  and  numerous  posterity,  which  has  carried 
everywhere  the  choice  fruits  of  benediction.  /  The  mustard-seed  sown 
by  Ozanam  in  1833  is  to-day  a  mighty  tree.  It  extends  its  branches 
throughout  the  entire  world  and  is  the  rallying  centre  for  all  the 
missions  of  the  earth."/ 

Yet  another  address  from  the  same  august  lips  affirms  the  spiritual 
affinity  of  the  two  apostles  of  charity,  and  the  union  of  their  souls 
and  their  lives,  derived  one  through  the  other  "  from  the  springs  of 
the  Saviour,"  as  the  Church  expresses  it.  / 

His  Grace,  Dr.  Blenk,  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans,  had  just  made  at 
that  time  a  report  to  His  Holiness  Pius  X  on  the  good  works  performed 
by  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in  the  Dioceses  of  Louisiana. 
Whereupon  His  Holiness  said  :  "  Yes,  indeed,  it  is  in  that  way  that 
the  spirit  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and  of  the  great  Founder  Ozanam 
is  manifested.  It  is  indeed  in  that  way,  that  the  heart  of  the  people 
will  be  won  to  God. "/When  His  Grace  requested  His  Holiness  to 
pray  for  the  general  extension  of  the  Society  in  the  New  World,  the 
Holy  Father  replied  :  "  That  is  my  constant  prayer.  I  have  no  more 
ardent  desire  than  to  see  that  Society  carry  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 
the  spirit  and  the  life  of  Ozanam,  which  is  the  life  of  that  great  apostle 
of  Charity  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  which  is  itself  the  life  of  the  Divine 
Saviour."*  f 

*On  his  return  from  Europe  in  October,  Archbishop  Blenk  presided  over  an 
extraordinary  general  meeting  of  more  than  one  thousand  members,  for  the 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  xxiii 

Let  us  cherish  those  words.  There  is  light  from  them  ;  is  it  the 
dawn  ?  I  do  not  desire  to  see  more  by  their  light  than  the  honour 
in  which  the  person  and  the  work  of  Ozanam  are  held  in  high  place. 
I  find  encouragement  in  them  for  suitable  steps  to  be  taken,  in  full 
submission  to  the  regulations  and  conditions  which  the  Church  wisely 
imposes  on  the  most  legitimate  desires  of  her  children.  They  are, 
in  fine,  a  call  to  prayer  until  that  day  of  common  recollection,  which 
is  approaching  and  which  will  strengthen  our  confidence.  / 

The  23rd  April,  1913,  will  see  the  Centenary  of  the  Birth  of  Frederick 
Ozanam.  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  proposes  to  celebrate 
the  event  very  solemnly,  to  give  a  new  impetus  to  his  good  works, 
and  revivify  the  apostolic  spirit  in  its  members,  by  making  the 
memory  and  the  example  of  its  Founder  more  widely  known.  / 

Paris  will,  of  course,  be  the  centre  of  such  celebrations.  But  the 
eyes  of  our  members  will  be  turned  to  Rome,  as  they  bear  their  homage 
to  the  feet  of  Pius  X,  as  formerly  Ozanam  bore  it  to  the  feet  of  Pius 
IX,  to  renew  faith,  to  receive  the  word  of  command,  to  listen  to  the 
holy  oracle,  and  to  bring  back  hope  and  benediction./  I  shall  not  be 
of  the  number  of  those  pilgrims  to  Rome,  perhaps  not  even  a  spectator 
of  the  earthly  celebrations  ;  I  shall  be  content  at  having  been  per 
mitted,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  to  intone  the  Vespers.  But  if  the 
Master  of  Life  deigns  to  extend  mine  to  that  day,  I  shall  receive  on 
bended  knees  the  words  of  light  and  strength  from  the  Vicar  of  Christ, 
which  shall  be  carried  forth  to  millions  and  millions  of  Christians./ 
If  Ozanam 's  name  receives  special  religious  prominence  in  expressions 
of  gratitude  and  veneration,  I  shall  draw  an  augury  from  that  in  favour 
of  a  still  more  solemn  event.  That  will  indeed  be  for  my  old  age  a 
final  great  joy,  it  will  be  equally  the  highest  and  most  precious  reward 
which  this  world  can  offer  for  this  Book.  / 

Gruson,  Villa  Jeanne  d'Arc. 
Christmas    1911. 


celebration  of  the  Golden  Jubilee  of  their  foundation  in  the  St.  Louis  Cathedral. 
The  Bishops  of  Natchez,  Okahama,  Natchitoches  and  Mobile  were  present. 
When  the  evening  meeting  had  been  opened  with  the  Veni  Creator,  tne  Arch 
bishop  announced  from  the  pulpit  that  he  had  been  charged  by  the  Holy  Father 
with  a  very  special  message  for  them.  He  quoted  the  above  statement  of  the 
Holy  Father,  word  for  word,  and  gave  an  account  of  his  audience.  (Bulletin, 
January  1910,  p.  24).  / 


FREDERICK    OZANAM 

IN  HIS  CORRESPONDENCE. 


CHAPTER  I. 
HIS  EARLY  YEARS. 

ANCESTORS. — FAMILY. — EDUCATION. — THE  CRISIS  OF  DOUBT. 
THE  ABBli   NOIROT. 

1813-29. 


Frederick  Ozanam  was  born  on  the  23rd  day  of  April,  1813,  in 
Milan,  which  was  at  that  time  a  French  city.  His  parents  came  of 
old  French  descent  and  were  of  the  old  faith.  / 

His  father,  Jean-Antonine-Frangois  Ozanam,  who  was  born  at 
Chalamont,  near  Trevoux,  was  a  man  of  character.  In  that  he  was 
the  worthy  son  of  Benedict  Ozanam,  one  of  the  twelve  castellans 
of  Dombes,  and  of  Elizabeth  Baudin.  The  latter  was  a  descendant 
of  the  family  of  La  Condumine  and  of  the  ancient  house  of  Saillans, 
whose  first  scion  died  in  1792,  at  the  head  of  20,000  men,  fighting  in 
the  Jales  camp  for  the  Royalist  cause.  / 

After  an  honours  course  in  classics  in  the  Oratorian  College  in  Lyons, 
Jean-Antoine  enlisted  at  the  age  of  20  in  the  Berchiny  hussar  regiment, 
in  which  he  displayed  conspicuous  gallantry  under  General  Bonaparte 
at  the  battles  of  Millesimo,  Mondovi,  Pavia,  Lodi,  Castiglione,  Arcole 
and  Rivoli.  /  He  retired  at  the  age  of  25,  severely  wounded,  with 
the  rank  of  captain.  He  was  identified  with  a  successful  diplomatic 
mission  to  General  Souwaroff ,  with  the  capture  of  a  Neapolitan  General, 
Prince  Cattolica,  whom  he  took  prisoner  at  Bologna,  and  with  the 


2  FREDERICK    OZANAM 

taking   of  a  Uhlan  Standard,  which  he  presented  to  Bonaparte.     He 
succeeded  in  retaining  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  that  great  General.  ( 

The  soldier  was  also  a  devoted  and  fearless  son.  He  was,  on  one 
occasion,  during  the  days  of  the  Terror,  on  his  way  with  his  regiment 
from  Bourg,  his  garrison  town,  to  Vienne  in  Dauphiny./  He 
made  a  detour  at  the  mart  of  Meximieux  in  order  to  pay  a  visit  to  his 
mother  in  the  neighbouring  town  of  Chalamont.  To  his  great  amaze 
ment  he  found  her  in  a  state  of  consternation.  Her  husband  had  just 
been  denounced,  arrested  and  imprisoned  at  Ambronay  near  Amberieu, 
whence  he  would  most  probably  depart  for  the  scaffold.  /  Jean- 
Antoine  jumped  into  the  saddle,  took  with  him  two  hussars  armed 
to  the  teeth,  galloped  to  Bourg,  where,  as  he  knew,  the  Committee 
of  Public  Safety  was  sitting.  He  forced  his  way  into  the  Committee 
Chamber,  and  pistol  in  hand,  demanded  an  order  for  release,  which 
he  took  away  with  him.  Then  he  set  off  at  full  gallop  to  outdistance 
the  gendarmes  whom  the  Committee  hurled  in  pursuit,  as  soon  as  it 
had  recovered  from  its  stupefaction.  There  was  scarce  time  to  re 
assure  his  mother  as  he  dashed  past  to  rejoin  his  regiment.  Luckily 
his  absence  had  not  been  noted.  / 

Young,  rich,  handsome,  amiable,  witty,  gay,  this  promising  officer 
resigned  from  the  Army  on  the  establishment  of  the  Empire.  He 
married  Marie  Nantas,  the  daughter  of  a  prosperous  merchant  in  Lyons. 
They  established  themselves  in  business  in  Paris,  where  they  were 
succeeding  admirably  until  he  signed  a  bill  for  a  bankrupt  relative 
and  brought  about  his  own  ruin. /It  seemed  that  he  would  then 
have  to  resume  the  sword.  Some  former  comrades-in-arms  spoke  on 
his  behalf  to  the  victor  of  Arcole,  now  Emperor  of  the  French./  The 
rank  of  Captain  in  the  Imperial  Guard  was  offered  to  the  former 
brilliant  hussar  officer.  But  as  he  was  not  a  lover  of  the  Empire  he 
declined  the  offer,  preferring  loyalty  to  his  convictions  to  that  great 
honour  and  brilliant  prospects.  /  He  then  determined  to  rely  on  his 
own  efforts  and  set  out  for  Milan.  When  he  had  settled  there  he  sent 
for  his  young  family.  He  occupied  his  time  very  fully  in  following  a 
course  of  medicine,  and  in  giving  private  lessons  as  a  tutor.  /  He  used 
to  relate  in  after  years  how  he  trudged  on  foot  every  three  months, 
from  Milan  to  Pavia,  for  his  examinations.  /  Two  years  sufficed  to 
complete  his  course  with  honours  and  to  become  qualified  as  a  Medical 
Doctor.  He  distinguished  himself  almost  immediately  by  a  learned 
work  in  Italian  which  brought  his  name  to  the  notice  of  the  scientists 


PARENTS  3 

of  the  day,  Count  Moscati,  Locatelli,  Scarpa,  who  all  esteemed  his 
work  very  highly./  In  the  year  1813  he  is  to  be  found  heroically 
performing  the  duties  of  a  visiting  physician  to  the  Milan  Military 
Hospital,  when  that  city  was  swept  by  an  epidemic  of  typhus  fever.  / 
Two  of  his  colleagues  had  died  of  the  plague  ;  Ozanam,  alone,  remained 
to  minister  by  the  bedsides  of  the  hundreds  of  patients.  It  was  his 
field  of  battle.  /Nor  did  the  commander  quit  the  post  of  danger  until 
the  dreaded  enemy  had  beaten  a  retreat.  For  his  services  on  that 
occasion  he  was  decorated  by  Napoleon,  King  of  Lombardy,  with  the 
Iron  Crown.  Heaven  granted  him  a  still  greater  reward.  It  was  in 
that  same  year,  1813  that  Antoine  Frederick  was  born,  the  fifth  child 
of  a  family  of  fourteen.  / 

The  son  wrote  in  later  years  of  the  father  in  the  following  terms  :— 

"  While  passing  through  camps,  revolutions,  and  many  forms  of 
adversity,  my  father  preserved  an  ardent  faith,  a  noble  character,  a 
high  regard  for  justice,  a  tireless  charity  towards  the  poor.  He  loved 
Science,  Art,  and  Work.  He  inspired  us  with  a  taste  for  the  beautiful 
and  the  sublime."/ 

Such,  indeed,  in  a  few  words  is  the  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious 
inheritance  which  Ozanam  received  from  his  father.  It  is  a  great 
help  forward  on  the  path  of  virtue  to  be  able  to  walk  in  the  footsteps 
of  those  of  our  name  who  have  shown  us  the  way  as  torchbearers  or 
pioneers.  / 

Not  less  exemplary  were  the  light  and  leading  which  he  received 
irom  the  life  of  his  mother./ 

Born  on  the  i8th  July,  1781,  Marie  Nantas'  recollections  in  child 
hood  dated  back  to  the  horrors  of  the  Siege  of  Lyons  in  1793,  when 
.•she  and  her  sisters  had  lived  in  the  cellars.  She  could  remember 
her  father,  one  of  the  leading  silk-merchants  of  the  city,  appointed 
•Captain  of  his  section,  devoting  his  days  and  nights  to  the  defence 
of  the  ramparts.  When  the  city  was  taken  she  could  remember  her 
brother,  Jean-Bap tiste,  scarce  18  years  of  age,  shot  at  Brotteaux,  with 
the  flower  of  the  youth  of  Lyons.  Her  parents  only  escaped  the  scaffold 
by  flight.  They  found  a  refuge  for  themselves  and  their  family  at 
Echallens,  in  the  Canton  of  Vaud  in  Switzerland,  between  the  two 
beautiful  lakes  of  Geneva  and  Neufchatel.  Thither  an  old  uncle, 
a  former  Prior  of  the  Carthusians  of  Premol  accompanied  them. 
Marie  could  remember  that  it  was  there  in  a  poor  little  church,  in 
-which  both  Catholics  and  Protestants  worshipped,  that  she  had  made 


4  FREDERICK    OZANAM 

her  first  Holy  Communion.  With  the  restoration  of  peace,  the  family 
returned  to  Lyons  to  recover,  not  their  property,  but  their  rank. 
Monsieur  Nantas  was  one  of  the  deputation  to  offer  in  1798  an  official 
welcome  to  General  Bonaparte,  then  on  his  way  to  take  over  at  Toulon 
the  command  of  the  Egyptian  expedition./ 

Reared  in  such  a  hard  school,  one  fit  to  train  a  fearless 
woman,  the  wife  of  Jean-Antoine  did  not  shrink  from  the  trials  of 
poverty  nor  from  the  manual  labour  which  her  husband's  reverses 
and  the  necessities  of  a  growing  family  entailed.  The  example  of  the 
brave  man  who,  at  the  age  of  36  years,  triumphed  over  every  difficulty 
in  far-away  Milan,  to  carve  out  a  new  career  for  his  family,  supported 
her.  It  was  in  1815,  when  the  Austrians  entered  Milan,  that  the 
patriotic  Frenchman,  not  wishing  to  live  himself  nor  to  rear  a  family 
under  a  foreign  domination,  brought  back  his  young  family  to  Lyons. 
Even  there  the  struggle  for  existence  for  a  new  and  unknown  doctor 
was  hard ;  still  harder  for  the  mother  of  a  family  of  fourteen 
children  eleven  of  whom  died  in  tender  years.  / 

But  she  did  not  indulge  in  idle  tears  like  those  who  have  no  hope. 
At  each  death  her  streaming  eyes  were  raised  to  Heaven.  Frederick 
could  write  later  as  follows :  "  On  how  many  occasions  have  I  not 
seen  my  parents  in  tears  ;  when  Heaven  had  left  them  but  three 
children  out  of  fourteen  !  But  how  often,  too,  have  not  those  three 
survivors,  in  adversity  and  in  trial,  counted  on  the  assistance  of  those 
brothers  and  sisters  whom  they  had  among  the  angels  !  Such  are 
indeed  also  of  the  family,  and  are  brought  back  to  our  minds  in  acts 
of  unexpected  assistance.  Happy  is  the  home  that  can  count  one 
half  its  members  in  Heaven,  to  help  the  rest  along  the  narrow  way 
which  leads  there  !"  / 

The  name  of  an  admirable  servant  of  the  family,  Guigui  (Marie 
Cruziat)  must  here  be  associated  with  that  of  Madame  Ozanam.  She 
had  entered  the  service  of  Frederick's  grandparents  when  a  child, 
her  integrity  was  unassailable  and  her  thrift  fabulous.  She  was  a 
woman  of  shrewd  and  sound  judgment  and  of  extraordinary  loyalty 
and  devotion,  who  insisted  in  hard  times  on  adding  her  mite  to  the 
scanty  income  of  her  beloved  masters.  / 

Better  days  did  dawn  at  length.  The  Doctor  became  known 
through  his  contributions  to  medical  journals  and  when  an  election 
was  held  for  the  much  coveted  position  of  Doctor  to  the  Guild  Hall, 
he  secured  first  place.  The  Royal  Academy  of  Science  in  Lyons  did 


ANCESTORS  5 

honour  to  his  works  and  admitted  him  to  membership.  From  1830 
on,  we  find  contributions  from  his  pen  appearing  in  the  Revue  des 
Deux-Mondes,  and  we  find  his  name  held  in  esteem  by  the  whole 
medical  profession.  / 

It  was  not  indeed  for  the  first  time  that  the  name  of  Ozanam  had 
been  heard  of  in  the  select  circles  of  the  learned  societies  of  Lyons. 
The  Academy  counted  among  its  scientific  celebrities  of  the  I7th 
century  one  Jacques  Ozanam  who  arrived  in  that  city  at  the  age  of 
20  in  the  year  1660.  He  taught  mathematics  with  such  renown  that 
ten  years  later  d'Aguesseau  summoned  him  to  Paris  to  co-operate 
in  the  work  of  the  Academy  of  Science,  and  to  take  the  chair  of  Higher 
Mathematics  in  the  University.  That  mathematical  work  he  pursued 
by  means  of  studies  and  lectures.  Fontenelle  delivered  the  panegyric 
of  the  "  celebrated  mathematician."  This  great- grand-uncle  of 
Frederick  was  pre-eminently  a  Christian  savant.  "  I  desire,"  he 
wrote,  "  that  physical  Science  shall  be  Christian  as  I  teach  it,  and  that  -, 
it  shall  lead  to  God."  He  was  more  Christian  in  his  domestic  than  in 
his  public  life.  He  was  simple  in  character,  unselfish,  a  father  of 
twelve  children,  who  were  as  religious  as  he.  Inviolably  attached  to 
his  religion,  he  boldly  answered  the  Jansenists,  and  later  the  Encyclo 
pedists  of  the  time  :"  It  is  for  the  Doctors  of  the  Sorbonne  to  debate, 
for  the  Pope  to  decide,  and  for  mathematicians  to  go  to  Heaven  by 
the  perpendicular."/ 

Indeed,  if  tradition  and  family  records  may  be  trusted,  it  is  necessary 
to  seek  much  further  back  for  the  source  of  that  legacy  of  religion. 
It  is  related  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  7th  century,  the  Archbishop 
of  Vienne,  St.  Didier,  flying  from  the  persecution  of  Queen  Brunhild, 
found  a  refuge  in  the  house  of  a  rich  Jew  of  Dombes  named  Samuel 
Hosannam  in  the  town  of  Boulignieux,  the  over- lord  of  which  he  was. 
St.  Didier  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
him.  He  converted  Hosannam  and  his  large  family.  The  Bishop  was 
martyred  soon  after,  but  the  seal  of  baptism  remained  engraven  on  the 
long  line  of  his  neophyte,  their  ancestor  in  the  faith./ 

To  that  patrimony  of  service  and  merit  Doctor  Ozanam  brought 
a  great  charity  towards  the  poor.  Lyons  can  still  recall  that  "  the 
Doctor  combined  the  soundest  medical  advice  with  the  most  wonderful 
devotion.  At  least  a  third  of  his  clients  were  free.  With  him  the 
profession  of  medicine  was  a  true  work  of  charity.  He  did  not  even 
confine  himself  to  giving  his  medical  services  free  to  the  poor  whom  he 


6  FREDERICK    OZANAM. 

visited,  he  also  shared  his  heart  with  them,  seeking  to  console  them 
in  their  misfortunes.  His  was  more  than  compassion,  his  was  true 
religion,  for  he  saw  in  the  poor  the  Divine  Person.  He  has  been  seen 
on  his  knees  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick  joining  with  the  invalid  in  asking 
for  the  clemency  of  the  Divine  Healer."  It  was  reserved  for  him,  as  will 
be  seen  later,  to  die  in  the  very  exercise  of  that  Christian  ministry./ 

The  practice  of  medicine  under  such  unselfish  conditions  did  not 
enrich  the  Doctor.  It  secured  for  him,  however,  a  moderate  com 
petency,  which  his  son  declared  to  be  proper,  free,  and  most  con 
formable  to  a  life  of  dignity  and  virtue.  "  I  wish  to  thank  God," 
he  wrote,  "  for  having  been  born  in  middle  class  society,  neither  rich 
nor  poor,  which  accustoms  one  to  the  idea  of  privation  without  the 
complete  deprivation  of  all  reasonable  enjoyment :  wherein  one  cannot 
be  enslaved  by  the  gratification  of  every  desire,  but  wherein  also  one 
is  not  continually  distracted  by  the  grinding  necessities  of  poverty. 
Then  follows  this  humble  opinion  of  himself  joined  to  an  act  of  thanks 
giving  :  "  God  alone  knows  what  dangers  would  have  lurked  for  me, 
with  the  natural  instability  of  my  character,  in  the  luxury  of  riches 
or  the  dejection  of  poverty./ 

Frederick  was  delicate  in  youth.  At  the  age  of  six  he  was  almost 
carried  off  by  typhoid  fever.  "  My  parents,"  he  recalls,  "  did  not 
leave  my  bedside,  day  or  night,  for  a  fortnight.  Everyone  believed 
that  I  won  through  only  by  a  miracle."  The  miracle  was  attributed 
to  St.  Francis  Regis,  patron  of  Vivarais.  Devotion  to  that  saint  was 
then  very  ardent  and  a  chapel  had  been  dedicated  to  him  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Polycarpe  in  Lyons./ 

In  a  letter  dated  5th  January,  1830,  written  to  a  college  friend,  M. 
Materne,  Ozanam  draws  this  severe  portrait  of  himself  :  "  I  was  never 
worse  than  I  was  at  the  age  of  eight.  I  had  become  headstrong, 
passionate  and  disobedient.  If  I  were  punished,  I  revolted  ;  I  wrote 
letters  of  complaint  to  my  mother ;  I  was  frightfully  lazy.  Every 
imaginable  trick  came  into  my  head,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a 
good  father,  an  excellent  mother,  and  a  gentle  sister  were  conducting 
my  education." 

As  a  companion,  and  at  the  same  time  a  contrast  to  that  portrait, 
we  have  the  following  from  the  hand  of  his  elder  brother,  the  Abbe 
Alphonse  Ozanam,  his  biographer  :  "  Frederick  was,  it  is  true,  a  quick 
tempered  child,  head- strong  in  his  desires,  extremely  sensitive  and 
impressionable.  But  he  was  tender  to  little  children,  compassionate 


EDUCATION  7 

with  every  form  of  suffering,  of  an  angelic  purity  which  shrank  from 
the  most  venial  fault,  an  impossible  subject  for  evil,  an  enthusiastic 
devotee  of  good."  Whereof  he  gives  examples.  / 

Frederick  was  early  brought  into  contact  with  the  poor  clients  of 
his  parents.  Madame  Ozanam  had  presided  for  the  best  part  of  her 
life  over  an  Association  of  working  women  called  "  The  Watchers," 
whose  duty  it  was  to  minister  in  turn,  by  the  bedside  of  the  sick  poor. 
In  later  years,  husband  and  wife,  now  growing  old,  bound  themselves 
mutually  never  to  mount  higher  than  the  fourth  storey  of  a  tenement 
in  the  course  of  their  arduous  charitable  mission.  But  only  a  short 
time  after  that  solemn  pact  and  covenant  was  made,  they  caught  one 
another  flagrante  delicto  on  the  threshold  of  a  garret  under  the  roof. 
It  was,  one  day,  to  cost  the  brave  doctor  his  life.  Frederick  had  the 
example  of  twenty  years  of  such  devoted  charity  before  his  eyes. 

His  Christian  education  was  mainly  the  work  of  his  excellent  and 
intelligent  mother.  He  could  say  of  her  before  God :"  It  is  at  her 
knees  that  I  learned  to  fear  You,  O  Lord  !  and  from  her  looks  to  love 
You."  Schooled  in  sacrifice,  she  was  equal  to  all  the  demands  of  family 
life  as  well  as  of  society.  The  moral  influence  of  her  sweet 
sway  made  her  "  the  best  obeyed  and  the  most  beloved  of 
mothers,"  and  her  cultured  intelligence  elevated  her  above 
the  average  lady  of  her  position.  She  spoke  and  wrote  well, 
could  draw  nicely,  had  good  taste  in  literature,  trying  her  hand  at  little 
occasional  verses,  neatly  turned  and  better  declaimed.  No  family 
feast  was  complete  without  a  joyful  song  from  that  delightful  mother. 

Frederick  was  desirous  that  in  recounting  the  work  of  his  education, 
the  name  of  his  sister,  Eliza,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  should  be  associa 
ted  with  that  of  his  mother.  He  wrote  eighteen  years  later  to  a  friend  in 
the  following  feeling  terms :  "  I  had  a  dearly  beloved  sister  who  co 
operated  with  my  mother  in  my  education,  whose  instruction  was  so 
gentle,  so  well  arranged,  so  well  suited  to  my  childish  intelligence, 
that  it  afforded  me  genuine  pleasure.  That  explains  why  it  was  possible 
to  say  that  as  a  child  I  was  gentle  and  tractable  ;  it  has  been  attributed 
to  my  physical  delicacy,  but  the  moral  influence  of  my  sister  is  another 
and  a  more  compelling  cause.  I  was  seven  years  old  when  that  good 
sister  died  at  the  age  of  nineteen.  Oh  !  How  I  was  stricken  with  grief  !" 

Almost  at  the  close  of  his,  alas  !  too  brief  career,  Ozanam  recalled, 
during  one  of  his  lectures  at  the  Sorbonne  and  in  a  voice  already  broken 
by  suffering,  the  transfigured  images  of  his  mother  and  sister  : 


8  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

"  Gentlemen,  however  vast  this  world  may  appear  to  be,  it  is  yet  too 
narrow  for  us,  for  our  desires  and  for  our  hopes,  especially  since  after 
a  brief  while  it  will  have  but  six  feet  of  clay  to  offer  us.  It  is  too 
confined  for  our  memories  of  the  past,  especially  for  those  who  had  a 
mother  who  loved  the  poor  and  loved  us,  who  spent  herself  that  we 
might  be  men  of  good-will :  and  for  those  who  had  a  sister  who  left 
this  earth  before  she  knew  any  other  love  than  the  love  of  God.  Do 
we  not  feel  the  need  for  a  better  world  in  which  to  place  them  ?  Do 
we  not  believe  that  they  are  aiding  us  from  on  high  when  a  happy 
inspiration  occurs  to  us  ?  When  we  recall  those  dear  faces  do  we  not 
imbue  them  with  some  new  beauty,  until  we  behold  them  perfect  and 
immortal,  thus  adding  for  ourselves  another  chapter  to  the  history  of 
the  saints  ?" 

Frederick  at  the  age  of  nine,  after  a  preparation  by  his  father, 
entered  the  fifth  class  in  the  Royal  College  of  Lyons,  which  was  then 
directed  by  a  priest.  "  There,"  he  himself  states,  "  I  gradually 
became  better.  The  spirit  of  emulation  conquered  my  laziness.  I 
liked  my  masters  and  studied  hard.  My  success  led  me  on  so  that  I 
began  to  get  proud.  But  I  had  much  improved  since  I  entered.  I 
then  fell  ill  and  had  to  go  to  the  country  for  a  month.  In  the  fourth 
class  I  did  not  do  so  well,  but  pulled  up  again  in  the  third.  This  was 
the  year  of  my  first  Holy  Communion." 

Ozanam  saluted  that  event :  "  O  day  of  days  !  May  my  tongue 
cleave  to  my  palate  if  ever  I  forget  thee  !  The  improvement  in  my 
disposition  was  plain  to  be  seen.  I  had  become  modest,  gentle  and 
tractable  ;  but  I  could  still  be  proud  and  passionate." 

The  College  lectures  of  a  celebrated  missionary  during  the  Lent  of 
1826  seem  to  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  him  at  the  age  of  thirteen. 
His  notes  on  the  sermons  contain  the  following  sentence  which  is  for 
him  the  one  that  matters  :  "  Young  men,  it  is  in  your  training  here 
to  be  good  Christians  that  you  will  be  trained  at  the  same  time  to  be 
good  citizens,  and  to  learn  to  fill  with  honour  the  careers  in  which  you 
will  be  called  upon  to  serve  your  God  and  your  country."  Such  was, 
in  his  opinion,  the  sum  total  of  duty.  The  missionary  priest 
was  none  other  than  the  future  Cardinal  Donnet,  Archbishop  of 
Bordeaux. 

The  young  student  astonished  his  masters.  The  beautiful  as  well 
as  the  good  was  enthroned  in  his  soul  and  emitted  rays  of  poetry  and 
eloquence  not  to  be  expected  at  that  tender  age.  In  his  thirteenth 


THE  HORROR  OF  DOUBT  9 

year  he  composed  pieces  in  French,  frequently  in  Latin,  in  prose  and 
verse  in  every  metre,  which  his  professors  showed  to  one  another  and 
to  their  pupils  as  little  short  of  marvellous.  The  subject  matter 
consisted  of  national  or  sacred  historical  episodes  ;  occasionally  of 
contemporary  events,  as  the  embarcation  of  the  French  in  the  War 
for  the  independence  of  Greece.  But  mostly  he  treated  of  the  Divine 
Mysteries  and  of  the  praises  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Occasionally,  too, 
domestic  scenes,  taken  from  life  and  treated  with  charming  sincerity 
and  grace  appeared  from  his  pen.  Before  his  fifteenth  year  he 
was  able  to  fill  a  little  volume  with  his  poetic  compositions,  which  he 
offered  on  New  Year's  Day  to  his  parents  with  a  double  dedication,  in 
Latin  for  his  father  and  in  French  for  his  mother  ;  nor  would  it  be  easy 
to  say  in  which  of  the  two  languages  he  speaks  with  greater  delicacy 
and  tenderness.* 

Yet  it  is  in  the  midst  of  this  serene  life  of  study  and  piety,  in  his 
fifteenth  year,  that  Ozanam  was  to  find  the  clear  sky  of  his  faith 
troubled  with  clouds,  and  his  heart  shaken  with  the  terror  of  doubt. 
Up  to  that  time  he  had  believed  as  a  child,  but  as  a  thoughtful  child  ; 
he  was  now  to  pay  for  the  precocity  and  the  restless  activity  of  his 
intellectual  life.  He  himself  took  the  students  of  the  schools  into  his 
confidence  when  dedicating  to  them  his  first  lectures  at  the  Sorbonne 
on  Christian  Civilisation  in  the  Filth  Century.  His  Preface  dated 
Good  Friday,  1851,  two  years  before  his  death,  contains  the  following  : 
"  In  the  midst  of  an  age  of  scepticism,  God  gave  me  the  grace  to  be 
born  in  the  true  faith.  As  a  child  I  listened  at  the  feet  of  a  Christian 
father  and  a  saintly  mother.  I  had  as  my  earliest  teacher  an  intelligent 
sister,  as  pious  as  the  angels  whom  she  has  gone  to  join.  Later,  the 
muffled  din  of  an  unbelieving  world  reached  me.  I  experienced  all  the 
horror  of  doubt,  which  by  day  gnaws  at  the  soul  without  ceasing,  and 
by  night  hovers  over  our  pillows  that  grow  wet  with  idle  tears. 
Uncertainty  as  to  eternity  left  me  no  rest.  In  despair  I  grasped  at 
sacred  dogma,  only  to  find  it  crumbling  in  my  hands.  Then  it  was  that 
the  teaching  of  a  priest,  who  was  also  a  philosopher,  came  to  my  rescue. 


*A  small  collection  of  these  Juvenilia  was  published  later  in  a  Biographical 
Notice  in  1854,  written  by  one  of  the  masters  in  Lyons,  on  his  most  brilliant 
pupil.  M.  Legeay  was  then  Honorary  Professor  of  the  Faculty  in  Grenoble. 
He  had  collected  them  as  promise  of  a  brilliant  future  for  the  young  student. 
Now  there  only  remained  for  him  to  place  them  as  a  wreath  on  his  grave.  Will 
not  the  cultivation  of  Latin  as  a  solid  foundation  for  a  French  author  appear 
an  anachronism  to  the  present  generation  ? 


io  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

He  dispelled  the  clouds  and  illumined  the  darkness  of  my  thoughts. 
From  then  I  believed  with  faith  grounded  on  the  rock.  Touched  by 
such  a  grace  I  promised  God  to  consecrate  my  days  to  the  service  of 
truth.  That  restored  peace  to  my  soul." 

A  private  letter  written  in  January,  1830,  to  his  college  friend, 
Materne,  at  the  close  of  this  crisis,  exposes  in  more  detail  the  interior 
struggle,  at  the  memory  of  which  he  still  shuddered  :  "  My  dear 
friend,"  he  writes,  "  I  must  enter  with  some  detail  into  a  painful  period 
in  my  life,  which  began  in  Rhetoric  class  and  ended  last  year.  After 
constantly  listening  to  unbelievers  and  to  expressions  of  unbelief,  I 
commenced  to  ask  myself  why  I  believed.  I  began  to  entertain 
doubt,  and  yet  I  wished  to  believe.  I  rejected  the  promptings  of  doubt. 
I  read  books  in  which  belief  was  established  ;  yet  none  fully  satisfied 
me.  For  a  month  or  two  I  believed  this  or  that  piece  of  reasoning : 
some  new  difficulty  presented  itself  and  I  doubted  again.  Oh  !  how 
I  suffered  !  for  I  wished  to  be  religious.  My  faith  was  not  solidly 
grounded,  yet  I  preferred  Faith  without  Reason  to  Doubt.  All  that 
tortured  me.  I  took  to  philosophy.  The  Theory  of  Certitude  quite 
upset  me.  I  thought  for  a  moment  that  I  should  doubt  my  very 
existence." 

We  have  here  the  picture  of  the  entire  man,  spirit,  heart,  and  will 
engaged  in  that  struggle.  The  spirit  is  tried  with  doubt,  the  heart 
protests,  the  will  resists.  That  is  the  greatest  of  human  sufferings  ; 
it  is  also  the  great  testing- time  sent  us  by  God,  which  brings  with  it 
the  dazzling  vision  of  love.  Ozanam  referred  to  that  struggle  in  a  later 
letter  in  the  following  forcible  terms  :"  Shaken  by  doubt,  I  grasped  the 
columns  of  the  temple  with  all  my  might,  even  were  it  to  crush  me  in 
its  fall." 

But  God  had  seen  his  tears  and  came  to  the  assistance  of  His  child. 
The  spirit  grew  clear  ;  faith,  beloved  and  desired,  triumphed ;  tempta 
tion  (for  the  crisis  was  that  and  nothing  else)  was  beaten  back.  The 
martyr,  in  his  very  hour  of  martyrdom,  was  loyal  to  God.  God  would 
not  forget  him. 

Ozanam  turned  to  God.  A  friend  relates  that  "  In  the  darkest  hour 
of  trial,  which  had  become  for  him  actual  physical  pain,  the  young 
student  appealed  to  the  mercy  of  God  for  light  and  peace.  He  threw 
himself  on  his  knees  before  the  Most  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  there  in 
tears  and  in  all  humility,  he  promised  Our  Lord  that,  if  He  would 
deign  to  make  the  lamp  of  truth  shine  in  his  sight,  he  would  consecrate 


THE  ABB£  NOIROT  ii 

his  life  to  its  defence."  He  arose  consoled.  Like  Paul  on  the  road 
to  Damascus,  he  was  to  find  the  Ananias  who  would  enlighten  and 
prepare  the  disciple. 

"  The  priest- philosopher,  whose  teaching  rescued  him,"  as  he  him 
self  expressed  it,  was  the  celebrated  Abbe  Noirot,  who  for  20  years 
professed  philosophy  in  the  College  of  Lyons.  He  left  an  indelible 
mark  on  all  the  brilliant  young  men  of  the  period.  His  method — 
which  cannot  be  judged  by  his  written  work,  for  he  wrote  nothing — 
was  founded  on  Descartes  rather  than  Socrates.  He  exaggerated 
doubt  in  order  to  pave  the  way  in  the  mind  for  the  return  of 
true  thinking.  Whatever  his  method  may  have  been,  its  results  were 
splendid.  Christianity,  which  was  the  apex  of  his  system,  shone  in 
that  school  of  thought  with  a  dazzling  radiance  of  truth  and  beauty. 
"  The  influence  which  that  true  master  exercised  over  young 
Ozanam,"  wrote  J.  J.  Ampere,  "  decided  altogether  the  direction  of 
his  thoughts."  The  master  admired  and  esteemed  the  young  man, 
the  youngest  of  his  130  students  in  the  course  of  philosophy.  At  the 
close  of  his  life  he  spoke  of  him  in  the  following  terms  :  "He  was  a 
chosen  soul.  Nature  had  dowered  him,  in  a  wonderful  degree,  with 
graces  of  mind  and  heart.  Affectionate,  sympathetic,  ardent,  devoted, 
modest,  at  once  lively  and  serious,  hating  no  one,  despising  falsehood, 
never  was  there  a  more  popular  student  among  his  fellows.  In  the 
words  of  one  of  them,  they  formed  in  his  regard  a  circle  of  love  and 
respect."  His  also  describes  him  as  studying  with  enthusiasm  far 
into  the  night.  Thus,  young  as  he  was,  he  won  his  way  to  the  head  of 
his  class,  which  he  retained  to  the  end. 

Monsieur  Cousin  did  not  hesitate  to  name  Abbe  Noirot  "  the  first 
Professor  of  Philosophy  in  France,"  saying,  "  other  Professors  have 
students  :  the  Abbe  Noirot  creates  disciples."  Ozanam  was  his  chosen 
disciple.  Outside  lecture  hours  the  master  liked  to  have  him  for  a 
companion  in  his  walks  through  the  lonely  and  rocky  paths  which 
surround — or  which  then  surrounded — Lyons  on  all  sides,  and  "  which 
make  the  city  so  dear  to  minds  of  a  melancholy  and  contemplative 
turn."  It  was  usually  on  the  South  side  of  the  city,  in  the  Straits 
at  La  Quarantaine  that  they  walked,  and  thrashed  out  such  questions 
as  the  reconciliation  of  Science  and  Faith,  over  which  the  Abbe  Noirot 
raised  the  illuminating  torch  of  Revelation.  There,  too,  are  to  be 
perceived  the  first  faint  outlines  of  those  large  historical  scenes  of 
Christianity,  of  which  his  mind  now  at  peace  was  already  conceiving 


I2  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

the  first  splendid  ideas.  His  convictions  had  been  shaken  by  a  little 
cheap  philosophy  of  earth ;  they  were  now  restored  in  the  true  science 
of  Heaven.  He  expressed  himself  later  as  follows  to  two  of  his  friends  : 
"  For  some  time  past  I  have  felt  the  need  of  some  solid  ground,  wherein 
I  could  take  root  and  resist  the  torrent  of  doubt.  This  day,  my 
friends,  my  soul  is  rilled  with  joy  and  consolation.  At  one  with  faith, 
my  reason  has  found  again  that  Catholicism,  which  was  taught  me 
by  the  lips  of  an  excellent  mother,  and  which  was  so  dear  to  me  in  my 
youth,  Catholicism  in  all  its  grandeur,  in  all  its  beauty." 

His  faith  emerged  stronger  and  happier  from  the  struggle  ;  it  be 
came,  also,  more  sympathetic  with  the  failings  of  others.  "  How  often," 
relates  his  elder  brother,  "has  not  our  dear  brother  confided 
to  us  the  terrible  anguish  which  tortured  him  at  that  time.  Ah  !  he 
would  add,  "  I  am  sometimes  charged  with  excessive  gentleness  towards 
unbelievers.  When  one  has  passed,  as  I  have,  through  the  crucible 
of  doubt,  it  would,  indeed,  be  cruelty  and  ingratitude  to  be  harsh  to 
those  to  whom  God  has  not  yet  vouchsafed  to  give  the  priceless  gift 
of  faith.'  "  Thus  had  God  moulded  and  prepared  him  to  be,  one  day 
an  enlightened  and  authoritative  guide  for  the  young  men  of  his  time. 
The  crisis  had  been  for  him,  at  once  a  lesson,  a  trial  and  an  apprentice 
ship. 

Such  was  his  infancy,  and  such  his  early  youth.     At  the  age  < 
sixteen  Frederick  Ozanam  left  College  first  of  first.    Now  the  bloom 
of  that  early  youth  is  about  to  open,  that  period  of  his  life  so  holy,  so 
industrious,  so  fruitful  of  good  works,  so  unlike  the  youth  of  others 
that  one  can  say  "  Ozanam  had  no  youth." 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  this  youth  was  already  a  man.  It  is  the  first 
fruits  of  a  man's  mind  that  we  shall  see  in  a  defence  of  Christianity 
extraordinary  for  his  years.  All  is  hurried  in  this  rare  life,  as  if  Heaven, 
which  was  to  make  it  brief,  was  eager,  even  then,  to  make  it  full. 


CHAPTER  II. 

LITERARY  ATTEMPTS. 

A  LAWYER'S  CLERK.— PROFESSION  OF  HIS  BELIEF. — The  Bee. — SAINT 
SIMONISM  IN  LYONS — Reflexions  sur  la  doctrine  de  Saint  Simon — 
Programme  of  the  Demonstration  du  Christianisme. 

1830-31. 

Dr.  Ozanam  had  settled  views  about  the  future  of  his  son.  In  his 
family  diary  in  1829,  the  following  lines  are  to  be  found  :  "  I  desire  to 
make  Frederick  a  Barrister,  or  preferably,  a  member  of  the  Magistracy 
or  a  Judge  in  the  Royal  Court  of  Justice.  He  has  refined,  pure  and 
noble  sentiments  :  he  will  make  an  upright  and  enlightened  judge.  I 
venture  to  hope  that  he  will  be  our  consolation  in  our  old  age.  After 
college,  where  he  is  at  this  moment  finishing  his  philosophy,  he  will 
study  the  practice  of  the  law  with  a  lawyer  ;  thence  he  will  go  to  read 
law  at  Paris  or  Dijon." 

This  preconceived  notion  of  a  legal  profession  for  his  son,  instead 
of  a  literary  life  which  attracted  Ozanam,  was  to  be  the  source  of  eight 
years'  suffering,  which  weighed  heavily  on  the  young  man. 

The  filial  son  gave  way  to  the  desire  of  his  father.  The  next  year,. 
1830,  the  young  bachelor  is  to  be  found  as  an  apprentice  in  the  cham 
bers  of  one  of  the  principal  attorneys  of  Lyons,  a  M.  Coulet,  transcribing 
briefs,  noting  or  engrossing  deeds.  But  neither  his  heart  nor  his  mind 
was  in  his  work.  Since  finishing  his  philosophy,  his  thoughts  were 
engrossed  by  a  sublime  ideal. 

The  Doctor  well  understood  that  it  was  necessary  to  find  some 
occupation  to  fill  up  the  tireless  intellectual  energy  of  his  son.  He 
engaged  for  him  at  the  same  time  a  German  teacher,  with  whom  the 
young  man  made  rapid  strides  in  that  language.  It  was  a  valuable 
instrument  which  a  far-seeing  Providence  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
future  Professor  of  Foreign  Literature  as  well  as  Historian  of  the 
Civilisation  of  the  Germans  and  the  Franks.  Lessons  in  drawing  were 
added.  That  was  his  mother's  wish  who,  herself,  handled  the  brush 


14  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

with  refinement.  It  would  also  be  a  pleasant  interlude  in  the  thankless 
task  of  petty  clerking.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  the  first  infusion 
of  that  aesthetic  culture,  which  was  to  show  itself  later  in  discriminat 
ing  critiques  on  art  and  on  the  Christian  artists  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  environment  was  good  for  neither  study  nor  art.  The  ly-year- 
old  Christian  was  to  have  the  unpleasant  task  of  making  his  faith  and 
its  practice  respected  by  others. 

The  chambers  of  M.  Coulet  had  on  its  staff  some  young  blackguards, 
who  indulged  in  indecent  literature  and  who  frequented  immoral 
haunts.  These  did  not  hesitate  to  brag  of  their  carouses  before  the 
new  comer.  Ozanam  blushed  at  first ;  then,  losing  patience  and  filled 
with  indignation,  he  boldly  broke  in  upon  their  conversation,  scorned 
their  ill-timed  jests,  exposed  their  ignorance,  made  them  ashamed  of 
their  subjects  of  conversation  and  silenced  them  ;  he,  the  youngest 
of  the  lot  !  "  Frederick,"  his  brother  recalls,  "  related  to  us  with 
animation  the  details  of  that  first  skirmish  and  victory.  It  won  for 
him  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  sorry  youths  who,  but  the  previous 
day,  thought  him  a  noodle  and  a  child." 

He  had  a  similar  experience  at  his  drawing  course.  M.  Leonce 
Curnier,  the  author  of  an  excellent  work  on  Ozanam  s  Youth,  gives  the 
following  account,  which  I  abridge  :  "  It  was  at  the  end  of  1830.  We 
were  at  drawing  class,  sitting  beside  one  another,  surrounded  by  dis 
solute  young  men.  It  pained  us  to  have  to  listen  to  them  ;  but, 
overwhelmed  by  numbers,  we  maintained  silence  looking  from  one  to 
another.  One  day,  however,  matters  came  to  such  a  pass  that 
we  both  cried  out  in  protest.  Ozanam  stood  up.  I  seem  now  to  see 
that  countenance  and  hear  that  voice,  of  which  I  had  hitherto  only 
known  the  modesty  and  gentleness.  He  grew  animated,  became  in 
dignant,  commanded  and  imposed  silence.  In  a  firm  but  restrained 
tone  he  proclaimed  his  Catholic  Faith,  without,  at  the  same  time, 
littering  one  word  that  could  hurt  the  feelings  of  those  misguided 
young  men.  These  were  silenced."  ....  "  In  re-seating  himself," 
adds  the  witness  of  this  scene,  "  the  future  Professor  of  the  Sorbonne 
grasped  the  hand  of  the  simple  industrial  apprentice.  That  hand, 
my  young  and  noble  friend  never  withdrew." 

Their  friendship  lasted  for  life.  In  his  recollections  of  Ozanam  s 
Youth,  dedicated  to  his  sons,  Leonce  Curnier  wrote  :  "  My  daily  con 
tact  with  Frederick  Ozanam  constituted  the  whole  charm  of  my  stay 
in  Lyons.  We  often  had  delightful  walks  together  on  the  charming 


MORAL  INFLUENCE  15 

banks  of  the  Saone,  the  beauty  of  which  threw  him  into  poetical 
ecstasy.  A  picturesque  site,  a  landscape  with  an  infinite  horizon,  a 
river  with  a  graceful  sinuous  course  would  ever  entrance  him.  The 
fields  and  the  woods,  the  verdure  and  the  flowers  held  for  him  ineffable 
delight,  which  evoked  expressions  of  thanks  and  homage  to  the  Creator. 
More  than  once,  during  our  trips  in  the  suburbs  of  Lyons,  I  have  heard 
such  expressions  burst  forth  from  the  deeply  religious  heart  of  my 
friend.  On  each  occasion,  as  if  hanging  on  his  lips,  I  felt  drawn  upward 
by  him  on  those  mystic  flights,  and  my  soul  endeavoured  to  soar  with 
his." 

The  same  friend  continues :  "  With  us  both  the  isle  of  Barb  e,  that 
enchanting  oasis  of  verdure,  so  dear  to  the  inhabitants  of  Lyons,  was 
a  favourite  spot.  Ozanam  would  point  out  to  me  with  veneration 
the  remains  of  an  old  Abbey  of  the  yth  century,  or  he  would  make 
me  climb  with  him  the  steep  rocks,  from  the  summit  of  which,  it  is 
said,  Charlemagne  beheld  his  army  file  past,  in  that  heroic  age  of 
Faith  which  was  to  live  again  in  the  writings  of  my  young  companion." 

"  Notre  Dame  de  Fourviere  held  for  him  a  charm  other  than  the 
splendid  panorama  which'  unfolded  itself  from  the  mountain.  It 
was  for  him  a  place  of  prayer.  He  had  a  great  devotion  to  the  Mother 
of  God,  whose  modest  shrine  bore  on  its  walls  many  evidences  of 
miracles  obtained  through  her  intercession.  Ozanam,  who  knew  the 
history  of  this  holy  place  intimately,  called  up  before  my  eyes  the 
notable  visitors  of  former  times :  Thomas  a  Beckett,  Innocent  IV., 
Louis  XI,  Anne  of  Austria,  Louis  XIII,  and,  in  our  days,  Pius  VII, 
on  his  return  from  the  coronation  of  Napoleon." 

"  The  whole  soul,  mind  and  heart,  benefitted  by  such  conversations," 
continues  the  friend  from  Nimes.  "  When  God  in  His  infinite  mercy, 
gave  me  Ozanam  for  a  friend,  I  was  young,  left  to  myself,  far  from  home, 
in  a  great  city  where  many  dangers  surrounded  me.  At  the  first  breath 
of  that  general  scepticism  which  was  characteristic  of  the  time,  I  felt 
the  faith  which  I  had  had  at  the  knees  of  my  mother  totter,  and  the 
only  force  which  I  could  oppose  to  the  seduction  of  the  passions  weaken. 
Ozanam  crossed  my  path  to  arrest  me  at  the  edge  of  the  precipice. 
I  afterwards  walked  with  a  firm  and  steady  step  in  the  path  traced 
out  for  me  by  his  example.  ...  It  was  the  destiny  of  Frederick 
Ozanam  to  preserve,  or  to  win  back  from  the  demon  of  unbelief  many 
young  men  of  his  own  time.  I  am  perhaps  the  first  who  was  thus 
saved  from  ruin." 


16  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

When  his  professional  course  was  finished,  M.  Leonce  Curnier  re 
turned  to  Nimes,  his  native  city,  of  which  he  became  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  citizens.  He  lived  in  the  charm  of  those  memories, 
and  under  the  benign  influence  of  that  example,  as  we  shall  see  from 
their  later  correspondence. 

We  have  already  shared  Frederick's  confidence  with  one  of  his  college 
friends,  M.  Materne,  afterwards  Professor  in  the  University,  and  re 
nowned  for  his  scholarly  work  on  Grecian  Literature.  Now,  in  June 
1830,  Ozanam  entertains  his  friend  with  admiration  for  the  religion 
which  he  has  regained,  and  with  the  great  happiness  which  he  ex 
periences  in  belief.  But  in  this  the  young  Christian  has  some  fault 
to  find  with  himself,  in  that  he  is  not  as  Christian  as  he  ought  to  be 
and  as  he  would  wish  to  be.  "  I  bring  more  conviction  than  fervour 
to  the  practice  of  my  religion,  and  this  causes  me  much  suffering.  I 
wish  to  be  a  worthy  son  of  the  Church.  I  do  indeed  perform  most 
regularly  my  religious  exercises,  but  Confession  is  for  me  a  sore 
trial.  This  springs  from  my  pride,  from  the  embarrassment  which  I 
experience  ;  .  .  and,  above  all,  from  the  laziness  which  prevents  me 
from  correcting  myself." 

It  was  on  the  8th  June,  1830  that  he  wrote  this.  The  Revolution 
broke  out  a  few  days  later.  The  correspondence  was  resumed  on  this 
new  topic.  Ozanam  was  indignant  at  the  impious  acts  committed 
during  those  violent  days.  "A  dissolute  Press,  trampling  on  the  Cross, 
Government  acts  of  retaliation  widening  the  breach  between  the  new 
regime  and  the  Catholic  Church."  Yet,  it  is  through  the  Church  alone 
that  he  expected  a  lasting  peace  for  Society  to  return  !  About  politics 
he  is  silent,  until  the  tree  of  liberty  be  known  by  its  fruits.  This  very 
young  man  knows  how  to  bide  his  time  :  "  While  the  young  acclaim 
the  glorious  Revolution,  I  endeavour  to  make  myself  old ;  I  watch 
and  wait,  and  at  the  end  of  10  years  I  shall  say  what  I  think  Mean 
time,  my  dear  friend,  let  us  join  in  being  good  Christians.  I  am  de 
lighted  to  think  that  in  this  tempestuous  crossing,  we  shall  be  a  source 
of  strength  to  one  another,  to  this  end,  that  we  shall  neither  fail  nor 
fall.  Such  a  friendship  must  draw  down  the  blessing  of  God.  The 
day  will  come  when,  near  the  end  of  our  careers,  we  shall  exchange 
mutual  congratulations  on  having  entered  on  it  hand  in  hand/' 

There  was  much  talk  of  war  in  those  days  of  European  unrest.  "  I 
am  told,"  wrote  Ozanam  on  the  I4th  August,  "that  one  of  these  fine 
mornings  I  may  find  myself,  like  my  father,  on  another  bridge  of 


PRESS  ARTICLES  17 

Arcole  or  Lodi,  or  on  the  road  to  Vienna,  or  even  to  London,  with  my 
knapsack  on  my  back  and  my  sword  in  my  hand  !  Well  be  it  so ! 
Come  what  will,  I  shall  none  the  less  pursue  my  studies.  Is  it  not 
good  for  a  soldier  to  be  able  to  speak  German  and  Italian  ?  Above  all, 
ought  not  a  military  man  be  armed  with  faith  grounded  on  the  rock, 
by  a  thorough  religious  instruction  ?" 

Ozanam  could  have  cited  the  example  of  another  soldier,  of  whom 
he  wrote  five  months  before  his  death,  :  "  When  he  left  the  HussarS, 
my  father  had  read  the  voluminous  Bible  of  Don  Calmet  from  end  to 
end,  and  he  knew  Latin  as  even  we  Professors  no  longer  do." 

Even  while  studying  hard,  Frederick  learned  to  write  for  the  public. 
Peres  Noirot  and  Legeay,  his  masters,  had  founded  in  Lyons  a  little 
Review,  The  Bee,  open  to  past  students  of  the  College.  Ozanam  con 
tributed  some  brilliant  articles.  In  addition  to  actual  events  and  to 
trivialities  in  prose  and  verse,  he  treated  of  philosophy  and  history. 
He  shared  these  subjects  with  another  past  student  of  the  same  school, 
Hippolyte  Fortoul  of  Digne,  a  future  Professor  of  the  Faculty  in 
Toulouse  and  a  future  Minister  of  Education  and  of  Public  Worship 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Second  Empire. 

At  this  moment  "Saint  Simonism"  invaded  Lyons.  Triumphant 
in  Paris,  accredited  by  the  genius  of  some  of  its  masters  as  well  as  of 
its  students,  backed  by  a  leading  paper  like  The  Globe,  popularised 
in  Lyons  by  the  Precurseur  and  the  Organisateur ,  presented  to  the  mob 
as  the  sublime  revelation  of  future  religion,  the  doctrine  of  Saint 
Simonism  expected  and  awaited  its  final  enthronement  by  the  July 
Revolution.  In  Lyons,  however,  the  person  and  the  preachings  of 
the  Parisian  emissaries,  the  strangeness  of  their  bizarre  costume,  the 
extravagance  of  their  promises  of  reform,  had  awakened  in  the  people 
curiosity  rather  than  sympathy.  On  the  other  hand,  the  prestige 
of  their  liberal  theories  of  equality,  the  attraction  of  their  promises 
of  moral  emancipation,  the  dawn  of  a  golden  age,  which  was  to  witness 
the  return  to  the  primitive  Laws  of  Humanity,  were  not  without 
exercising  a  most  seductive  influence,  especially  upon  the  mind  of 
the  educated  youth.  In  addition  to  which,  were  there  not  even, — 
startling  to  relate, — truly  religious  minds  for  whom  Saint  Simonism 
represented  a  new  and  a  better  Christianity  ?  Which  title  it  indeed 
assumed. 

It  is  truly  astonishing  to  learn  that  a  young  man,  then  17  or  18 
years  old,  should  have  the  hardihood  to  spring  forward  to  attack  this 


i8  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

infatuation  and  seduction.  His  zeal  for  truth,  his  indignation  at 
falsehood  and  evil,  the  sight  of  the  danger  to  his  brothers,  the  honour 
of  God  and  of  His  Church,  impelled  him  to  write.  His  first  effort 
consisted  of  two  articles  in  the  Precurseur  refuting  the  doctrine. 

The  young  writer  offered  as  an  excuse  for  his  temerity,  the  sincerity 
of  his  convictions.  He  claimed  the  indulgence  of  his  elders,  whose 
place  was,  however,  more  properly,  in  the  forefront  of  the  attack  : 

"  Deeply  imbued  with  the  great  truths  of  Christianity,  which  contain 
for  me  consolation  and  hope,  I  find  myself  forced  to  express  what  my 
soul  feels.  I  know  that  my  voice  is  feeble  and  that  my  spirit  is  weak. 
It  is  not  from  a  young  man  of  18  years  of  age  that  a  masterpiece  is  to 
be  expected.  If,  then,  I  have  failed  in  parts,  if  I  have  made  slips, 
let  them  be  imputed,  not  to  the  cause  I  plead,  but  to  my  youth  and  to 
my  inexperience.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  I  seem  to  have  in  any  way 
worthily  upheld  the  cause  in  this  first  skirmish,  deduce  from  that 
what  the  elders  could  accomplish  for  that  same  principle,  on  behalf 
of  which  their  children  fear  not  to  enter  the  lists." 

The  Precurseur,  which  inserted  the  articles,  promised  to  answer  them, 
and  did  nothing.  The  Globe,  which  had  joined  in  the  discussion,  was 
likewise  silent.  But  the  articles  had  attracted  much  attention  in  Paris 
as  well  as  in  Lyons.  Ozanam's  friends  pressed  him  to  publish  them, 
developed  and  completed,  in  pamphlet  form.  That  meant  a  second  and 
much  enlarged  work,  the  fruit  of  more  study,  so  that  the  subject  matter 
travelled  beyond  the  title.  It  was  a  complete  examination,  which 
ran  to  several  chapters,  of  the  doctrine  of  Saint  Simonism  in  its  two 
aspects,  historical  and  critical,  organic  and  dogmatic.  I  quote  the 
conclusion,  which  is  clear  and  decisive,  from  a  singularly  virile  mind : — 

"  The  doctrine  of  Saint  Simonism  was  represented  to  us  as  founded 
upon  the  principle  of  human  perfection,  as  resting  upon  an  actual 
historical  system  established  in  harmony  with  the  needs  of  humanity. 
It  was  announced  as  true  in  dogma,  remote  and  holy  in  its  origin, 
fruitful  and  beneficent  in  its  effects.  But  history  proved  it  false, 
conscience  condemns  it,  common  sense  rejects  it.  Its  primitive  revela 
tion  is  a  fable,  its  novelty  an  illusion,  its  application  immoral.  Self- 
contradictory,  it  would  be  disastrous  as  well  as  impossible  in  its  final 
development,  it  would  impede  human  nature  on  its  journey  to  perfec 
tion  and  civilisation." 

This  appeared  as  a  work  of  100  pages  in  the  spring  of  1831,  under 
the  title  of  Reflections  on  the  Doctrine  of  St.  Simon.  It  was  at  once 


LAMARTINE  AND  CHATEAUBRIAND  19 

acclaimed,  at  least  as  a  promise  of  still  better  work.  "  I  have  re 
ceived,"  he  wrote,  "  a  very  flattering  letter  from  M.  de  Lamartine, 
and  a  very  favourable  review  from  the  Avenir"  (Lamennais'  paper). 
Lamartine  wrote  as  follows :  "Magon,  August  1831. — I  have  just 
received  and  read  with  pleasure  your  work,  which  you  have  done  me 
the  honour  to  send  me.  When  I  consider  your  age,  I  am  astonished 
and  filled  with  admiration  for  your  genius.  Please  accept  my  best 
thanks.  I  am  proud  to  think,  that  a  thought  of  mine,  merely  expressed, 
should  have  inspired  you  to  write  such  a  beautiful  critique.  Believe 
rather  that  the  thought  was  not  mine  but  yours  ;  mine  has  been  but 
the  spark  which  fired  your  soul." 

"  Your  first  effort  guarantees  one  more  combatant  in  the  crusade  of 
moral  and  religious  philosophy  against  gross  and  material  reaction. 
I,  too,  look  forward  to  victory.  We  shall,  perhaps,  not  see  it,  but  the 
voice  of  conscience,  that  infallible  prophet  in  the  heart  of  a  just  man, 
promises  it  definitely  for  our  children.  Let  us  believe  in  that  promise 
and  let  us  live  in  the  future." 

M.  de  Chateaubriand  takes  a  higher  ground  with  the  doctrines  of 
Saint  Simon,  which  he  disdains,  and  with  Saint  Simon  himself,  whom 
he  despises.  He  writes  on  the  2nd  August  from  Geneva  to  a  friend  : 
"  I  have  glanced  over  the  little  work  of  M.  Ozanam.  I  had  already 
read  something  of  it  in  the  Precurseur.  The  work  is  excellently  con 
ceived  and  the  closing  passage  is  arresting.  I  am  only  sorry  that  the 
author  should  have  squandered  his  time  and  his  talent  in  refuting 
what  was  not  worthy  of  his  attention.  We  all  know  Saint  Simon. 
He  is,  to  say  the  least,  a  madman.  Surely  an  extraordinary  Christ  ! 
Please  convey  my  best  thanks  to  M.  Ozanam." 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  that  first  work  of  his  i8th  year  was 
altogether  free  from  the  youthful  exuberance  for  which  he  claimed 
indulgence.  The  tree  may  burst  forth  early  into  leaf  and  flower ;  but 
the  fruit  needs  time  for  maturity.  Some  of  the  phraseology  is  unduly 
rhetorical.  Yet  the  man  of  letters  and  the  scholar  peeps  out  here  and 
there.  Jean  Jacques  Ampere  notices  that :  "I  find  in  that  work 
the  germ  of  qualities  which  developed  late  in  Ozanam  :  a  keen,  though 
still  immature,  taste  for  knowledge,  drawn  from  widely  different 
sources  :  enthusiasm,  loftiness  of  thought,  great  moderation  in  dealing 
with  persons  ;  above  all,  settled  convictions,  and  a  sincere  and  courag 
eous  sense  of  duty,  which  drove  this  young  David  alone  to  combat, 


20  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

armed  with  a  sling  and  five  polished  stones  taken  from  the  bed  of  the 
stream." 

It  is  to  young  men,  those  young  men  to  whom  his  works  were  to 
be  devoted  to  the  end,  that  Ozanam  dedicated  these  first  fruits  of 
his  pen.  "  Let  them  not  refuse  to  hear  the  voice  of  a  comrade,  of  a 
brother :  Young  men,  the  moral  regeneration  of  our  ancient  land  of 
France  will  be  your  own  special  work.  You  have  felt  the  emptiness 
of  material  pleasures,  you  have  felt  the  hunger  for  truth  crying  out 
within  you  ;  you  have  gone  for  light  and  comfort  to  the  barren  philo 
sophy  of  modern  apostles.  You  have  not  found  food  for  your  souls 
there.  The  religion  of  your  forefathers  appears  before  you  to-day 
with  full  hands  ;  do  not  turn  away,  for  it  is  generous.  It  also,  like 
you,  is  young.  It  does  not  grow  old  with  the  world.  Ever  renewing 
itself,  it  keeps  pace  with  progress,  and  it  alone  can  lead  to  perfection." 

But  are  the  first  feelings  of  vain-glory  noticeable  in  the  splendid 
reception  which  awaited  the  young  author  ?  It  is  but  the  beginning 
of  temptation  :  he  is  conscious  of  it,  and  he  rejects  it.  On  the 
iQth  April,  1831,  he  confesses  to  his  friend,  Materne,  who  had  over 
whelmed  him  with  praise,  that  he  is  persecuted  by  a  violent  desire 
for  publicity  which  tends  to  destroy  his  best  efforts.  "Yet,  though 
I  know  that  this  glory  is  empty,  it  does  not  prevent  me  from  seeking 
it  ...  My  dear  friend,  speaking  in  terms  of  philosophy  and  religion, 
the  only  rule  by  which  to  regulate  our  acts  is  the  law  of  love  :  love  of 
God  and  of  our  neighbour  .  .  .  .  Oh  !  my  dear  friend,  let  this 
command  of  love  be  our  law.  Trampling  under  foot  all  vain  glory, 
our  hearts  will  be  consumed  with  love  for  God,  for  men,  and  for  true 
happiness.  Then  we  shall  be  excellent  Catholics,  excellent  Frenchmen  ; 
we  shall  be  happy." 

The  son  of  M.  Ampere,  who  saw  in  that  essay  the  germ  of  Ozanam's 
talent,  saw  in  it  also  the  preface  to  his  complete  work  of  apologetics, 
and  wrote  later  :  "Ozanam  opposed  to  this  anti-Christian  doctrine 
of  modernity,  the  Gospel  and  antiquity,  seeking  with  a  hand,  still 
youthful,  but  already  firm,  to  follow  link  by  link  the  chain  of  human 
tradition.  It  was  the  preface  to  the  book  at  which  he  was  to  labour 
even  to  his  last  day."  Ozanam,  himself,  had  some  similar  feeling 
when  writing  to  his  dear  relative,  Ernest  Falconnet :  "  The  reason  why 
I  like  this  little  work  is,  that  in  it  I  have  planted  the  seed  of  what  is 
to  occupy  my  life." 

We  have  here,  then,  a  first  effort  of  what  was  to  be  his  life  work  : 


A  LIFE  WORK  21 

a  work  not  only  literary  but  holy  and  religious  ;  a  work  of  faith  and 
of  science,  a  work  of  apostleship,  carried  out  with  the  single  aim  of 
winning  souls  from  the  sceptic  spirit  of  the  time.  That  work  was  to 
be  as  he  conceived  it  La  Demonstration  de  la  Religion  Catholique  par 
Vantiquite  'et  I'universalitedes  croissances  et  des  traditions  du  genre  humain. 
That  perspective  exalts  him,  and  he  who,  but  yesterday  had  "  grasped 
the  columns  of  the  temple  even  were  it  to  crush  him  in  its  fall,"  is 
now  able  to  write  to  the  same  friend  as  follows  : — "  To-day  I  find  the 
same  columns  grounded  on  science,  crowned  with  wisdom,  and  glory, 
and  beauty.  I  find  them  again  and  embrace  them  with  enthusiasm 
and  love.  I  dwell  near  them.  I  shall  point  them  out  as  a  beacon 
of  deliverance  for  those  who  are  drifting  on  the  sea  of  life." 

Some  of  his  fellow  pupils  in  Lyons  had  preceded  Ozanam  to  the 
schools  of  Paris.  One  named  Hippolyte  Fortoul,  has  been  already 
mentioned.  He  was  two  years  Frederick's  senior.  Happening  to 
come  to  live  in  the  great  city  immediately  after  the  July  Revolution, 
finding  himself  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  young  men,  restless,  turbulent, 
thirsting  for  novelty,  drunken  with  liberty,  blinded  by  illusion,  at 
the  mercy  of  every  current  of  thought,  and  of  every  wave  of  political 
passion,  Fortoul  laid  before  Ozanam  the  formidable  question  of  the 
present  duty,  and  of  the  future  of  Society. 

The  reply  was  a  long  letter  of  ten  pages,  on  the  I5th  January  1831, 
surely  the  most  astonishing  letter  that  has  ever  been  written  by  an 
iS-year-old  student.  What  one  first  remarks  is  the  detachment  of 
mind  and  heart  from  the  tumult  of  current  politics,  and  then  the  calm 
and  serene  contemplation,  which  was  preparing  him  silently  and  ser 
iously  for  a  higher  life.  This  life  was  to  be  devoted  to  the  service  of 
eternal  truth,  to  a  great  work  at  once  moral,  social,  and  religious, 
in  which  he  hoped  for  the  co-operation  of  his  friends. 

"My  dear  comrades,  at  the  moment  of  greatest  moral  and  material 
unrest,  my  decision  is  taken,  my  life's  plan  is  mapped  out,  and  as  a 
friend,  I  ought  to  acquaint  you  with  it.  In  the  first  place,  tired  of 
politics,  wearied  with  systems  of  all  kinds,  watching  the  charade  being 
played  all  round  me  and  patiently  waiting  until  the  key-word  be  uttered, 
I  have  resolved  to  confine  myself  to  my  own  sphere,  to  work  out  my 
own  development,  apart  and  detached  from  society,  to  study  seriously 
in  order  that  I  may  take  my  part  in  it  later  with  more  advantage  to 
it  and  to  myself.  Such  is  the  plan  which  I  have  formed,  and  which 
the  Abbe  Noirot  has  encouraged  me  to  pursue.  He  assures  me  that  I 


22  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

shall  easily  find  many  studious  young  men  ready  and  willing  to  co 
operate.  At  once  I  thought  of  you,  my  good  friends Let 

us  then  be  stirring,  and  while  the  storm  is  overthrowing  many  of  those 
in  high  places,  let  us  develop  in  obscurity  and  in  silence,  to  be  full 
men  when  the  period  of  transition  shall  have  passed  and  we  shall  be 
needed." 

His  scheme  was  to  rebuild  society  on  a  religious  basis,  which  would 
in  turn  be  supported  on  a  larger  historical  foundation.  This  religious 
reconstruction  would  necessitate  seeking  and  finding  the  earliest 
conceptions  of  religious  truth  in  the  primitive  traditions  and  sacred 
writings  of  every  people.  The  preliminary  work  would  consist  in  the 
study  of  Oriental  languages,  Hebrew,  Sanscrit,  Egyptian,  "  a  round 
dozen  languages,"  as  he  said,  so  as  to  be  able  to  consult  at  first  hand 
original  documents.  In  addition  it  was  to  comprise  a  knowledge  of 
geology  and  astronomy  in  order  to  be  able  to  discuss  the  cosmogony 
of  peoples,  and  to  fathom  the  histories  of  races  and  beliefs. 

What  would  it  not  be  necessary  to  know  ?  One  smiles  at  finding 
Ozanam  "  groping  in  tombs,  exhuming  myths,  exploring  the  traditions 
of  every  age  from  the  savages  of  Cook  to  the  Indians  of  Wishnow  and 
to  the  Scandanavians  of  Odin."  That  youth  surely  has  no  fears  ! 

Ozanam  offers  some  apology  for  the  grandiose  character  of  his  voca 
tion  :  "  I  am  amazed  at  my  own  daring  ;  but  what  can  one  do  ?  When 
an  idea  has  taken  possession  of  one  for  the  last  two  years  and  grows  and 
grows  until  it  occupies  the  whole  mind,  how  can  one  set  limits  to 
it  ?  When  a  voice  cries  and  cries  and  ever  cries  :  Do  this,  I  wish  it ; 
how  can  silence  be  imposed  on  it  ?" 

Ozanam  had  then  heard,  even  before  the  age  of  18,  voices  from 
Heaven,  from  God,  calling  him  to  his  vocation.  It  was  the  work  of 
God  and  of  God's  Church,  in  which  the  apostle  was  urging  his  comrades 
to  co-operate.  "Co-ordinating  our  efforts  with  those  of  others  we 
shall  create  a  new  organisation.  .  .  Then  one  may  see  Catholicism 
leading  the  age  with  every  hope  of  a  better  future.  My  dear  friends, 
I  feel  moved  in  addressing  you,  for  the  work  is  grand.  It  is  true  it 
is  gigantic  ;  but  I  am  young.  I  have  every  hope  that  the  time  will 
come,  when,  having  nourished,  fortified,  and  developed  my  ideal, 
I  shall  be  able  to  express  it  worthily." 

Six  days  later,  on  the  2ist  January,  in  a  second  letter  similarly 
addressed,  it  is  the  urgent  needs  of  the  time  and  its  solemn  nature 
that  move  him  :  "  How  great  is  the  scene  of  action  to  which  we  are 


TRUE  GLORY  23 

called  !  How  beautiful  it  is  for  a  young  man  to  enter  on  his  career 
in  such  a  solemn  hour  !  So  far  am  I  from  being  discouraged  by  the 
course  of  events,  that  I  am  glad  to  have  been  born  at  a  time  when, 
by  dint  of  some  real  hard  work,  it  will  be  given  to  me  perhaps  to  do 
some  good." 

The  last  lines  are  these  speaking  of  his  esteemed  master :  "  What 
a  great  friend  was  the  Abbe  Noirot  !  He  has  my  profound  gratitude 
for  ever  !  For  you,  comrade  in  arms,  my  friendship  is  ever-enduring 
and  you  shall  never  be  forgotten."  It  was  a  regular  enlistment. 

His  last  letter  from  Lyons,  dated  4th  September  1831,  addressed 
to  his  cousin,  Ernest  Falconnet,  breathes  the  same  spirit.  The  young 
builder  proceeds  to  lay  out  the  plan  of  his  future  edifice  which  is  to 
be  a  temple.  One  side  will  face  the  past :  "What  was  the  primitive 
religion  of  humanity?"  Another  will  face  the  future:  "What  will 
be  the  religious  future  of  this  same  humanity  ?  "  He  continues :  "  by 
that  time  neither  death  nor  old  age  shall  have  arrested  our  progress, 
the  figure  of  Christianity  will  emerge  in  all  its  splendour."  He  then 
salutes  Christ,  the  Eternal  King  of  all  time. 

The  glory  of  that  work  was  to  be  for  God  alone.  Here  the  wise  and 
saintly  youth  shows  his  true  Christian  humility.  His  friend  Materne, 
having  spoken  of  other  glory,  he  replied :  "  No,  my  dear  friend.  We 
mast  not  make  glory  an  end  ;  we  are  to  receive  it  but  as  encourage 
ment.  True  glory  consists  in  recognition  by  posterity.  But  the 
just  man  places  his  hopes  still  higher.  He  awaits  his  reward  and  his 
glory  from  the  hands  of  an  infallible  and  incorruptible  Judge,  the  Giver 
of  all  good  gifts,  to  Whom  he  appeals  from  the  ingratitude  of  men." 

We  have  just  heard  the  future  Sorbonne  Professor  express  his  hope 
for  a  great  work  of  science  and  faith,  in  which,  indeed,  Ozanam  was 
to  be  first,  a  worker,  and  subsequently,  the  master.  A  short  time  after 
wards  the  future  founder  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  was 
not  less  explicit  as  to  the  work  of  charity,  which  was  to  precede  the 
former  and  to  surpass  it. 

The  two  works  were  to  have  difficult  beginnings.  No  doubt,  his 
encyclopaedic  scheme  of  study  was  somewhat  far-fetched.  The  idea 
itself,  the  main  idea  that  dwarfed  all  others,  was  to  meet  discourage 
ment  in  his  own  immediate  domestic  circle.  "We  were  frightened," 
relates  his  brother,  "  at  the  dangers  of  the  profound  and  difficult 
subject  matter  of  the  study  which  he  was  commencing.  The  thesis 
of  progress  through  Christianity,  did  this  not  seem  to  challenge  the 


24  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

immutability  of  our  dogma  ?  We  therefore  spoke  often  to  him  in 
our  evening  walks.  He  answered  us  with  the  approbation  and  the  en 
couragement  of  the  Abbe  Noirot,  without  whose  imprimatur  he  published 
nothing."  The  brother  adds  these  lines,  which  should  be  noted : 
"  Frederick  never  printed  any  important  work  concerning  religion, 
without  first  submitting  it  to  the  severe  criticism  of  a  learned  and 
conscientious  theologian.  This  docility  to  the  Church  was  for  him  a 
matter  of  scruple.  He  would  have  abandoned  his  dearest  opinions 
unhesitatingly,  and  torn  to  pieces  his  most  eloquent  writings,  rather 
than  that  they  should  contain  any  propostion,  even  dangerous  or 
suspect,  not  to  say  erroneous.  He  marched  protected  by  the  shield 
of  orthodoxy.  That  was  his  rule  during  his  whole  life." 

His  domestic  circle  was  on  good  ground  in  arguing  against  the 
hopeless  immensity  of  his  plan  of  study.  "It  appeared  to  us  to  be 
too  vast  for  the  strength  and  life  of  one  man.  The  spirit  would  exhaust 
all  its  energy  in  endless  research,  before  it  could  possibly  bear  fruit." 

That  was  true.  But,  gaming  wisdom  and  experience  with  time, 
the  ardent  1 8-year-old  conscript,  the  Defender  of  Christianity,  would 
learn  to  circumscribe,  where  necessary,  the  illimitable  field  of  studies 
which  his  flaming  eyes  swept  with  a  glance.  Instead  of  the  ancient 
Orient  and  the  cradle  of  the  human  race,  it  is  the  barbarism  of  North 
ern  Europe,  won  over  and  subdued  by  the  Gospel,  that  would  yield 
to  him  the  secret  of  the  origin  of  Christian  civilisation.  "But  if," 
as  wrote  J.  J.  Ampere,  "  the  student  was  forced  to  limit  the  extent 
of  his  study,  the  master  idea  ever  remained  the  same,  to  demonstrate 
and  glorify  religion  from  history.  Thus,  at  18  years  of  age,  the  student 
of  yesterday  was  already  marching  on  the  road  to  the  great  goal  to 
wards  which  the  renowned  Professor  was,  20  years  later,  to  take  the 
last  steps.  Thus  he  was  able  to  write,  at  the  head  of  his  first  lecture  in 
the  Sorbonne  :  "  Life  is  advancing,  we  must  take  advantage  of  the 
little  youth  that  remains.  It  is  full  time  to  commence  writing  and  to 
keep  my  1 8-year-old  promises  to  God." 

Such  were  the  lofty  ideals  that  preoccupied  Frederick  Ozanam  as 
he  followed  the  enforced  avocation  of  a  junior  clerk  in  the  chambers 
of  M.  Coulet,  and  during  those  eternal  interviews  with  the  chief  clerk, 
from  which  he  derived  neither  profit  nor  pleasure.  Between  times,  his 
brother's  biography  depicts  a  young  man  of  modest  appearance  coming 
and  going  from  his  father's  house  in  the  Rue  Pisay,  which  was  then 
standing,  walking  abstractedly  and  apparently  absorbed  by  one 


HIS  EARLY  YOUTH  25 

thought,  which  made  him  insensible  to  all  around  him.  At  times  he 
rapidly  turned  over  the  pages  of  a  volume  which  he  devoured,  hastening 
his  step,  brushing  against  people  and  things  in  his  path  ;  then,  with 
touching  confusion,  humbly  apologising  and  excusing  himself  on  the 
ground  for  his  weak  sight  His  sight  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  very 
short.  For  him,  time  was  not  silver,  it  was  golden. 

Such  was  the  virile  religious,  intellectual  and  moral  preparation 
of  his  early  youth,  which  heralded  the  worker,  fit  for  his  great  work,  as 
it  raised  him  well  above  the  level  of  the  youth  of  the  world ;  above  their 
frivolity  and  voluptuousness  ;  above  the  ephemeral  dust  and  the  filthy 
mire.  His  conscience  had  been  formed  in  purity  and  his  heart  in 
piety  and  charity.  He  was  thus  prepared  for  those  first  combats 
and  those  first  conquests  into  which  we  shall  follow  him. 


26  FREDERICK  OZANAM 


CHAPTER  III. 

ISOLATION.  —  AMPERE  AS  HOST.  —  CHATEAUBRIAND.  —  MONTALEMBERT.— 
M.     BAILLY—  CONFERENCE     OF     HISTORY.— A     HOLY     SCIENTIST.— A 

SAINTLY  PRIEST. 

1831-33. 

Ozanam  had  entered  on  his  nineteenth  year  when  his  father  decided 
that  the  time  had  come  to  send  him  to  the  Faculty  of  Law  in  Paris. 
There  was  not,  at  that  time,  such  a  Faculty  in  Lyons.  It  was  towards 
the  close  of  1831  when  the  terror  inspired  by  the  July  Revolution  had 
begun  to  die  down.  Frederick  had  given  such  solid  proofs  of  principle 
and  virtue  that  every  thing  pointed  to  his  safe  return  from  that  greatly 
dreaded,  but  none  the  less  necessary,  trial. 

Frederick  obeyed  cheerfully.  Paris  was  for  him  the  city  of  studies, 
but  especially  of  historical  research.  There  he  would  find  masters, 
books  and  also  comrades  whom  he  would  be  able  to  associate  in  his 
work. 

The  parting  did  not  take  place  without  pangs  as  he  recalled  after 
wards.  He  was  leaving  for  the  first  time  that  home  whose  sweet 
ness  and  charm  he  had  commemorated  in  some  New  Year  verses  which 
now  came  back  to  his  mind  : 

Adieu,  vous  qui  fuyez  d'une  fuite  infinie, 
Premiers  ans  de  bonheur,  premiers  ans  de  ma  vie  ; 
Vous  emporterez  tout ;  tout,  jusqu  'a  la  douleur  ; 
Mais  vous  n'emporterez  pas  la  memoire  du  coeur.* 

*  Farewell,  you  who  are  fled  for  ever, 
My  first  years  of  happiness,  my  first  of  life ; 
You  sweep  all  in  your  train,  even  grief : 
But  you  do  not  deaden  the  memory  of  the  heart. 


LONELINESS  27 

He  prayed  to  God  for  his  parents,  for  success,  and  above  all,  for  the 
honour  of  the  career  upon  which  he  was  about  to  enter : 

Donnez  a  leur  enfant  la  force  et  la  lumiere, 
Donnez-lui  de  fournir  une  noble  carriere, 
Et  d'y  gagner  ce  prix  que  je  puisse,  a  mon  tour, 
Leur  offrir,  pour  payer  un  peu  de  tant  d'amour.* 

During  the  latter  days  of  October  or  the  early  days  of  November, 
1831,  Ozanam  was  many  leagues  from  Lyons,  "  buried  and  lost," 
as  he  sadly  explains  to  his  mother.  When  leaving  he  had  forced 
himself  to  appear  cheerful,  but  since  the  7th  November  his  super 
ficial  gaiety  had  disappeared.  At  this  time  his  lot  was  one  of  utter 
loneliness.  His  was  the  bitterness  of  dear  memories  changed  into 
regrets.  His  also  the  fear  of  the  unknown  and  of  himself,  flung  without 
guide  into  the  capital  of  egoism,  into  the  whirlpool  of  passion  and  of 
human  error.  He  is  frightened,  he  suffers  physical  pain  from  very 
terror,  he  has  no  one  to  love.  That  is  the  critical  hour :  to  whom 
could  he  confide  his  troubles  ?  "  Who  bothers  about  me  ?  My 
young  acquaintances  are  too  far  away  from  my  lodgings  to  see  them 
often.  To  confide  in  I  have  but  you,  mother  ....  and  God.  But 
those  two  are  legion." 

The  Church  of  St.  Genevieve  close  by  opened  its  doors  to  him  : 
but  it  had  been  recently  disestablished  by  Royal  Decree  :  "  It  is  now 
the  Pantheon,  a  pagan  temple  in  a  city  of  Christians.  It  is  a  tomb. 
But  what  is  a  tomb  without  a  crucifix,  a  burial  without  the  hope  of 
future  consolation  ?"  But  as  a  set-off  to  that  in  St.  fitienne  du  Mont, 
his  parish  Church,  he  glories  in  the  stateliness  of  the  religious  liturgy 
in  the  magnificence  of  the  chant,  and  of  the  organ.  Even  as  he  writes 
he  is  in  ecstasies  :  "  I  have  never  felt  anything  quite  like  it." 

The  success  of  a  campaign  is  often  decided  in  the  first  skirmish. 
The  young  man  became  aware  of  the  danger  on  the  instant,  and  re 
cognised  immediately  that  he  had  fallen  into  an  ambush. 

Madame  Ozanam  had  requested  an  old  friend  of  the  family  to  find  a 
quiet,  reliable  boarding-house  for  her  son  in  Paris.  The  friend  had 
made  a  mistake  in  his  choice,  which  the  young  lodger  was  not  slow  to 
discover.  The  company  there  was  not  good.  A  letter  to  his  mother 

*  Grant  to  their  child  strength  and  light, 
Grant  him  to  carve  out  an  honourable  career, 
To  win  some  prize  that  I,  in  my  turn, 
May  offer  them  something  for  their  great  love. 


28  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

dated  7th  December  contains  the  following  disedifying  account. 
"  At  the  table  are  old  and  young  ladies,  forward,  noisy,  frivolous, 
vulgar,  even  gross.  The  young  men  are  still  worse  ;  loose  conversa 
tions  about  indecent  representations  and  Parisian  scandals.  Barrack- 
room  talk  repeated  word  for  word."  After  supper  giddy  groups  are 
formed  at  the  card-tables  ;  shouts  and  vacant  laughter  penetrate  to 
his  room.  "  I  have  been  pressed,"  he  said,  "  to  join  in  those  amuse 
ments  ;  you  can  readily  understand  how  I  refused.  Yet  these  people 
are  neither  Christians  nor  Turks.  I  am  the  only  one  who  keeps  the 
fasts,  which  has  made  me  the  butt  for  many  a  gibe.  It  is  very  an 
noying  to  me  to  find  myself  in  such  society."  Every  feeling  in 
Ozanam  was  wounded,  his  delicacy,  his  self-respect,  his  modesty,  his 
religious  sentiment.  He  asked  for  advice  and  instructions. 

Madame  Ozanam  could  scarce  have  received  that  letter  when 
Providence,  who  is  our  Mother  also,  forestalling  her,  made  the  following 
splendid  response.  On  the  I2th  December  Frederick  gave  his  father 
a  description  of  a  visit  which  he  had  paid  to  a  very  illustrious  fellow- 
townsman,  M.  Ampere.  Some  little  time  before,  the  young  man  had 
been  introduced  to  the  great  scientist  at  the  house  of  M.  Perisse,  a 
relative  of  M.  Ampere.  He  had  been  invited  to  call  on  M.  Ampere,  when 
he  should  come  to  Paris  for  his  law  course,  and  he  did  not  forget  to  do  so. 
The  reception  was  quite  fatherly.  He  was  naturally  asked  about  Paris, 
about  his  lodgings  and  his  environment.  At  first  with  hesitancy,  then, 
won  by  cordiality,  Frederick  confided  to  him,  not  without  some  con 
fusion,  his  present  troubles  ;  Ampere  listened  in  silence,  moved  by  the 
timidity  and  candour  of  the  young  man.  Then,  without  a  word,  he 
led  him  to  the  next  room  and  opened  the  door.  It  was  a  very  bright 
room,  looking  out  on  the  garden.  "  This  is  my  son's  room,  who  is, 
and  will  be  for  some  time,  in  Germany.  What  do  you  think  of  it  ?" 
Then  he  added  quite  simply,  "  Would  it  suit  you  ?"  As  Ozanam, 
embarrassed  and  confused,  did  not  seem  to  understand,  he  continued  : 
"  Come  and  take  possession  of  it.  I  offer  you  board  and  lodging  here 
on  the  same  terms  as  you  are  paying  at  present.  Your  tastes  and 
sentiments  are  like  my  own,  and  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  have  you  to 
talk  to.  You  will  make  the  acquaintance  of  my  son,  who  has  read 
deeply  in  German  literature,  and  you  can  avail  yourself  of  his  library. 
You  observe  the  fasts,  so  do  we.  My  sister,  daughter  and  son  dine 
with  me.  We  shall  form  a  pleasant  company.  What  do  you  think 
of  it  ?" 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPERE  29 

The  young  man  did  not  well  know  what  answer  to  make,  not  yet 
feeling  certain  that  such  an  offer  could  be  intended  for  him.  He 
expressed  timidly  his  appreciation  of  the  honour  and  the  happiness 
which  had  been  conferred  on  him,  adding  prudently,  that  he  would 
refer  the  offer  to  his  parents  to  whom  he  was  writing. 

In  the  following  letter  the  whole  arrangement  is  referred  to 
as  completed.  Frederick  informed  his  father  that  for  the  previous 
two  days  he  had  been  the  guest  of  the  great  Ampere,  19  Rue  des 
Fosses-St.  Victor,  between  the  Polytechnic  and  the  Jardin  du  Roi. 
He  described  his  moving,  gave  a  sketch  of  his  room,  as  also  an  account 
of  the  daily  routine  of  the  household,  in  which  he  had  henceforward 
his  place  as  one  of  the  family. 

Andre  Marie  Ampere  was  at  that  time  56  years  of  age.  The  savant 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Science  since  1814,  Professor 
of  Applied  Mathematics  at  the  Polytechnic,  of  Physics  at  the  College 
of  France,  etc.,  and  became  later  Inspector  General  of  the  University. 
He  had  already  made  the  remarkable  discoveries  which  induced  Arago 
to  write  :  "  In  the  future  the  laws  of  Ampere  will  be  spoken  of  in  the 
same  way  as  the  laws  of  Kepler  have  been  in  the  past."  The  Royal 
Societies  of  London,  Edinburgh,  and  Cambridge,  the  Academies  of 
Berlin,  Stockholm,  Brussels  and  Geneva,  had  inscribed  his  name  on 
their  lists  of  honorary  members.  His  was  the  greatest  scientific  name 
of  his  country  and  of  his  time.  "  He  knows  by  instinct  and  intuition," 
wrote  Ozanam,  "  the  discoveries  which  crown  his  name  with  such 
glory  came  to  him  in  a  flash." 

But  what  the  young  man  liked  and  admired  in  him  more  than  his 
genius  was  his  goodness.  Domestic  trials  had  softened  his  heart  and 
illumined  his  faith.  He  lived  with  his  sister  and  his  dear  daughter, 
Albine,  who  was  a  prey  to  sorrow.  Jean- Jacques,  his  son,  his  hope 
and  his  pride,  was  busily  engaged  in  traversing  the  world  in  search 
of  knowledge.  Frederick  was  to  fill  a  vacant  place  in  that  saddened 
home.  "  M.  Ampere  is  constantly  showing  me  marks  of  extreme 
kindness,"  he  wrote  to  his  mother.  "  The  rules  of  etiquette  which  you 
taught  me,  are  unfortunately  rendered  useless  by  his  consideration. 
There  is  no  use  whatever  in  my  protesting,  I  must  be  served  first,  or 
he  gets  angry.  His  conversation  is,  at  times,  humourous,  but  always 
instructive.  I  have  learned  much  since  I  came  here." 

Ampere  made  him  free  of  all  the  sources  of  instruction  at  his  disposal. 
He  obtained  entrance  for  him  into  the  Academy  of  Science,  of  which 


30  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

he  was  one  of  the  leaders,  and  into  the  Mazarin  library,  to  which  he 
himself  introduced  and  recommended  Ozanam.  "  The  kindness  and 
graciousness  of  that  great  man,"  wrote  Ozanam,  when  recalling  those 
early  days  "  were  shown  to  all,  but  especially  to  young  men.  We 
know  many  to  whom  he  showed  the  kindness  and  solicitude  of  a  father. 
In  truth,  those  who  know  only  the  intelligence  of  this  man,  know  only 
the  poorer  part.  If  he  thought  much,  he  loved  still  more." 

But  above  Ampere's  kindness,  Ozanam  thanked  and  adored  the 
Supreme  God,  of  Whom  he  wrote  piously  :  "  God  is  infinitely  kind  in 
sweetening  my  exile  by  granting  me  such  society.  He  does  all  things 
well.  He  saw  how  I  should  suffer  from  home-sickness.  He  saw  that, 
in  my  weakness,  I  stood  in  need  of  much  consolation  to  sustain  me  to 
the  end.  He  has  given  it  to  me." 

Consoled,  but  not  cured,  the  young  man  vainly  asks  in  his  letter : 
"  What  student's  life  can  be  happier  than  mine  ?  .  .  .  .  Yet  I  feel  ill 
at  ease  in  an  immense  solitude.  When  separated  from  those  I  love, 
I  feel  something  of  a  child  who  must  needs  live  at  home  with  father 
and  mother,  some  indescribable  feeling  of  delicacy  which  withers  and 
pines  away  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  metropolis." 

The  "  something  of  a  child,"  the  charming  reflex  of  a  soul  which  had 
remained  chaste  and  tender  was,  thanks  be  to  God,  to  abide  with 
Ozanam  for  ever.  At  one  time  he  writes  to  his  father :  "  You  wish 
to  know  what  I  miss  most. — You,  father  and  mother  and  brothers 
and  sisters,  that  is  what  I  miss  and  what  I  ardently  desire  to  see. 
How  good  it  will  be  to  meet  you  all  again  in  eight  months'  time." 
Again  when  writing  to  his  mother  he  refers  to  the  family  fetes 
in  which  alas  !  he  is  not  there  to  take  part,  the  Feasts  of  St. 
Nicholas,  Xmas  Eve,  New  Year's  Day,  Epiphany,  the  glad  feasts  of 
the  Church  and  of  the  home,  in  which  the  young  Christian  joins  the 
name  of  God  :  "  Christmas  is  coming.  We  shall  pray  for  one  another, 
mother.  God  will  hear  us  both.  He  will  give  us  strength  and  courage. 
We  shall  see  His  Kingdom.  Whatever  the  future  may  contain  for  us, 
we  shall  walk  with  firm  step  to  our  eternal  destiny." 

By  contrast,  mighty  Paris  is  for  him  a  corpse,  to  which  he  is 
chained.  "  Its  cold  congeals  my  blood,  its  corruption  paralyses  my 
faculties.  Paris  is  for  me  a  modern  Babylon,  where,  a  captive,  I  weep 
at  the  memory  of  Sion.  Sion,  my  native  city,  holding  those  whom 
I  love,  with  its  homely  good  nature  and  its  abundant  charity,  Sion, 
whose  altars  are  erect  and  where  faith  is  supreme." 


HIS  MOTHER'S  INFLUENCE  31 

The  thought  of  mother  was  more  than  a  cause  of  sweet  regret  for 
him  ;  she  was  even  from  afar  off,  a  shield  and  a  buckler.  In  lines 
written  a  few  months  before  his  death  he  wrote  of  her  as  follows : 
"  Our  mother  ruled  by  trust,  by  honour,  and  by  a  sense  of  duty.  How 
could  I  ever  dare  to  read  a  forbidden  page  even  though  bound  by 
nothing  but  my  word  ?  During  my  stay  in  Paris  she  never  lost  sight 
of  me,  she  knew  everything  that  I  was  doing  and  I  never  even  suspected 
it.  I  looked  upon  myself  as  free  and  discovered  that  I  was  all  the 
more  securely  bound.  It  is  thus  that  noble  sentiments  are  inspired, 
that  wings  are  given  to  the  soul,  which  learns  to  soar  proudly  after  the 
good,  whereas  if  cribbed,  cabined  and  confined  by  an  irritating  sur 
veillance  and  by  a  degrading  servility,  it  becomes  only  too  anxious  to 
shake  itself  free  of  such  shackles." 

It  was  the  thought  of  his  mother,  ever  present  to  his  mind,  which 
suggested  his  reply  to  M.  Chateaubriand  on  the  occasion  of  a  memor 
able  visit.  Pere  Lacordaire  relates  the  incident  somewhat  as  follows  : 

What  the  great  Ampere  was  in  the  world  of  Science,  Chateaubriand 
was  in  the  world  of  letters.  Ozanam  desired  to  hear  him,  but  had  a 
mild  dread  of  meeting  him.  A  letter  of  introduction  from  a  Canon 
of  Lyons,  the  Abbe  Bonnevie,  gave  him  the  necessary  courage  to  knock 
at  the  modest  dwelling  of  him  whom  Charles  X.  at  Prague  called 
41  one  of  the  great  powers  of  this  world."  It  was  New  Year's  Day, 
1832,  the  hour,  noon.  M.  de  Chateaubriand  had  just  returned  from 
Mass.  He  received  the  young  student  with  every  mark  of  kindness. 
After  some  enquiries  as  to  his  plans,  tastes,  and  studies,  he  asked  him 
if  he  intended  frequenting  theatres  ?  Pere  Lacordaire  relates  that 
Ozanam  hesitated  between  the  truth  on  one  hand,  and  on  the  other 
the  fear  of  appearing  childish  in  the  eyes  of  his  distinguished  com 
panion.  He  remained  silent  for  an  appreciable  time.  M.  de  Chateau 
briand,  waited  with  attention  regarding  him  the  while,  as  if  attaching 
great  weight  to  his  opinion.  Truth  triumphed.  He  admitted  that 
his  mother  had  made  him  promise  not  to  set  foot  in  a  theatre.  There 
upon  the  author  of  the  Genie  du  Christianisme  shook  Ozanam  warmly 
by  the  hand,  saying  "  I  implore  you  to  follow  your  mother's  advice. 
You  will  get  nothing  from  the  theatre,  you  may  on  the  contrary  lose 
much  there." 

Pere  Lacordaire  adds  that  Chateaubriand's  remark  burnt  itself 
into  Ozanam 's  mind.  When  some  comrades,  less  scrupulous  than  he, 
pressed  him  to  accompany  them  to  the  theatre,  he  declined  firmly 


32  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

with  the  words :  "  M.  de  Chateaubriand  told  me  that  it  was  not  good 
to  go."  He  did  go,  for  the  first  time,  at  the  age  of  27  years,  in  1840, 
to  see  Polyeucte.  It  made  a  poor  impression  on  him.  He  felt,  as 
others  have  felt,  whose  taste  is  sure  and  whose  imagination  is  lively, 
that  nothing  can  equal  the  representation  of  the  great  masters  which 
the  mind  can  reproduce  for  itself  in  the  silent  and  solitary  study. 

Even  while  hearing  those  solemn  words  of  warning,  Ozanam  was 
learning  from  the  theatre  of  life,  "  which,"  he  wrote,  "  is  beginning 
to  show  itself  to  me  in  all  the  enormity  of  its  vices,  in  the  tumult  of 
its  passions,  in  the  blasphemy  of  its  impiety.  We,  children  of  good 
parents,  were  living  in  trust  and  confidence,  our  souls  ready  to  accept 
every  statement  as  honourable,  every  appearance  as  true.  Here  we 
find  ourselves  condemned  to  the  painful  task  of  learning  distrust  and 
suspicion." 

He  found  a  refuge  in  two  things,  "  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  and 
Catholicity,  they  are  my  only  consolation,  but  they  are  indeed  beauti 
ful."  We  take  the  liberty  of  adding,  friendship. 

The  year  of  Ozanam's  arrival  in  Paris,  1831-2,  witnessed  a  mighty 
upheaval  of  all  the  elements  of  intellectual  life,  religious,  political, 
social  and  literary.  Men  did  indeed  believe  that  one  of  those  turning 
points  in  the  history  of  the  world  had  been  reached,  when  the  human 
race  leaves  its  beaten  tracks  to  soar  into  new  heavens  and  discover 
new  systems.  Two  systems  of  Philosophy  were  standing  face  to  face  ; 
the  Rationalistic  School  with  ramifications  into  every  branch  of 
human  learning  ;  the  Traditional  School,  so  called  because  Reason 
demands  from  Tradition  the  source  of  its  deductions.  In  the  ranks 
of  the  latter  were  to  be  found  Chateaubriand,  Lamennais,  Baron 
d'  Eckstein,  de  Bonald  ;  in  Germany,  Schlegel,  Stolberg,  Goerres, 
etc.  It  is  in  the  latter  school  that  Ozanam  sees  the  dawn  of  hope  for 
Catholic  restoration,  and  as  such  he  salutes  it.  "  It  is  extraordinary 
how  well  read  everyone  here  is,"  candidly  writes  the  young  guest  in  the 
Ampere  household.  He  often  met  there  M.  Ballanche,  another  Lyons 
man,  with  whose  views  he  was  not  quite  at  one,  but  whose  wisdom, 
justice  and  Catholicity  he  admired.  Thus  in  his  courageous  work, 
Vision  d'  Hebal,  written  on  the  day  after  the  sacrilegious  looting  of 
St.  Germain  1'  Auxerrois,  face  to  face  with  Saint  Simonism  prophesy 
ing  the  approaching  end  of  the  ancient  dogma,  and  indeed  already 
making  preparations  for  its  interment,  Ballanche  had  not  hesitated  to 
proclaim  his  Roman  Catholic  faith  :  "  Everything  is  to  be  found  in 


BALLANCHE  AND  LAMENNAIS  33 

Catholicity,  and  it  has  said  the  last  word  ....  The  Eternal  City 
knows  that  another  Kingdom  is  promised  and  the  Roman  Pontiff  will 
declare  the  tradition  of  which  it  is  the  depository." 

Ozanam  attached  himself  to  him  as  to  a  dear  master.  We  read  in  a 
letter  of  that  period,  "  M.  Ballanche  received  me  very  kindly.  In  the 
course  of  our  conversation  he  said  "  Religion  embraces  of  necessity 
theology,  physiology,  and  cosmogony."  Is  not  that  exactly  what  we 
said  to  one  another  one  day  ?  Is  it  not  another  way  of  saying  what 
St.  Paul  said  when  he  declared  that  all  knowledge  is  contained  in  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus  crucified  ?" 

Lamennais  was  yet  another  intellectual  giant,  though  his  pre 
eminence  was  much  debated  later.  Ozanam  saw  little  of  him.  His 
letters  mention  him  twice  only,  and  then  without  comment.  On  the 
7th  December  Ozanam  wrote  :  "  I  saw  M.  de  Lamennais  on  the  eve 
of  his  departure  for  Rome  and  had  a  long  conversation  with  him." 
On  what  subject  ?  He  does  not  say.  The  celebrated  journey  to 
Rome  on  the  I3th  December,  1831,  was  that  from  which  Lamennais 
returned  in  open  revolt.  Ozanam  had  not  a  pleasant  recollection  of 
the  only  interview  which  he  had  with  him,  and  he  mentions  his  name 
henceforward  with  regret. 

The  student  had  plunged  into  the  strenuous  work  which  he  described 
ten  years  later  to  his  younger  brother,  Charles : 

"  You  will  be  soon  eighteen  years  of  age — that  is  the  age  when  I 
had  to  forsake  everything — for  then  we  had  everything — to  come  to 
this  city  where  I  had  not,  as  you  now  have,  a  brother,  relatives  and 
friends  ;  for  me  there  was  then  one  room  which  was  always  lonely, 
books,  which  brought  memories  thronging  back  with  them,  and  faces 
of  strangers.  Many  a  time  the  shaded  light  of  my  lamp,  and  the  glowing 
embers  of  the  fire  were  my  only  companions  from  tea  to  bed.  Then, 
too,  remembering  those  whom  I  had  left,  I  was  doubtful  if  I  should  again 
see  them  on  my  return  to  Lyons." 

The  young  law  student  entered  on  his  studies  conscientiously, 
writing  up  his  notes,  as  he  informs  us,  immediately  on  his  return  from 
lectures.  He  was  equally  particular  in  the  students'  debates, 
frequently  opening  the  argument,  either  affirmatively  or  negatively, 
for  the  Government  or  for  the  opposition,  in  which  his  readiness  of 
speech  first  made  itself  known.  The  young  law  officer  in  debate 
wrote  home :  "  Although  I  have  been  complimented,  I  felt  I  was 
very  weak ;  I  did  not  know  my  brief  sufficiently  well." 


34  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

A  free  course  of  lectures  on  Social  and  Political  Economy,  delivered 
by  M.  de  Coux,  possessed  great  interest  for  Ozanam.  M.  de  Coux  was 
one  of  the  three  young  Professors  who,  in  May,  1831,  had  opened 
the  Free  School ;  its  brilliant  success  was  still  much  spoken  of.  His 
system  broke  with  the  philosophical  and  economical  school  of 
Adam  Smith,  of  J.  B.  Say,  of  Sismondi,  etc.,  whom  he  justly  charged 
with  being  concerned  only  with  wealth  and  the  production  of  wealth, 
to  the  neglect  of  man  himself,  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  moral  virtue 
also  possesses  a  value.  He  charged  them  with  not  having  attempted 
to  touch  the  question  of  the  redistribution  of  public  wealth,  for  fear 
of  antagonising  the  Church  and  the  Gospel.  Ozanam  wrote  in  March, 
1832,  of  this  Professor  and  of  his  course  of  lectures  :  "  M.  de  Coux  has 
begun  his  series  of  lectures  on  Political  Economy,  which  are  both 
interesting  and  informing.  I  beg  of  you  to  put  your  name  down  for 
them.  His  lectures  are  crowded,  because  they  contain  truth  and 
living  interest,  a  knowledge  of  the  cancer  that  is  eating  into  society  and 
of  the  remedy  which  alone  can  cure  it." 

He  translated  from  German  a  little  book  of  Bergmann's  on  the 
religion  of  Thibet,  another  of  Mone's  on  the  mythology  of  the  Lap 
landers.  He  read  Vice's  Philosophy  of  History  ;  he  resumed  the  study 
of  Hebrew  with  the  deliberate  intention  of  sounding  the  depths  of 
sacred  history.  As  he  said  to  his  friends :  "  There  never  was  a  time 
when  a  History  of  Religions  was  more  called  for  by  social  needs. 
That  will  be  our  special  work  ;  it  is  maturing  in  our  youthful  mind  ; 
it  will  come  in  its  own  good  time  :  Tempus  erit." 

The  young  men,  whose  co-operation  the  Abbe  Noirot  had  assured  him 
would  be  forthcoming,  were  already  beginning  to  appear.  He  was 
scarcely  a  month  in  Paris  when,  on  the  2Oth  November,  he  was  able 
to  write  to  a  former  comrade :  "  I  hope  to  succeed  in  founding  the 
association  of  which  I  spoke  to  you.  I  have  already  some  material 
to  start  on." 

Six  weeks  later  he  returns  to  the  subject :  "  You  well  know  how 
desirous  I  was  to  have  around  me  young  men  of  the  same  sentiments 
and  opinions  as  my  own.  Now  I  know  that  they  are  to  be  found,  that 
they  are  numerous,  but  scattered,  like  so  many  needles  in  bundles  of 
straw.  Difficult  indeed  is  the  task  of  him  who  would  rally  them 
under  one  flag.  However,  I  hope  in  my  next  letter  to  be  able  to  give 
you  more  definite  details." 

At  length,  on  the  loth  February,  1832,  he  was  able  to  announce 


ASSOCIATIONS  OF  YOUNG  CHRISTIANS  35 

joyfully,  "Our  numbers  are  greater  than  we  thought.  I  am  finding 
young  men  here  of  decided  views  and  noble  sentiments,  who  are 
devoting  their  minds  and  their  energies  to  the  lofty  mission  which  is 
also  ours." 

Notable  associations  of  young  active  Christians  were  to  be  found 
in  the  Restoration  period.  We  must  not  forget  the  Congregation 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  which,  founded  in  1801,  had  grown  up 
under  the  Empire,  until  it  became  a  power  as  helpful  to  the  Church 
as  it  was  hateful  to  her  enemies.  Beside  it,  flourished  in  the  Quartier 
Latin  La  Societe  des  Bonnes  Etudes,  presided  over  by  a  great  and  a 
good  man,  a  Professor  of  Philosophy,  M.  Bailly  de  Surcy.  He  estab 
lished  it  near  the  Law  School,  Estrapade  Place,  where  he  himself  lived, 
and  received  a  few  good  young  men  as  paying  guests.  There  they 
found  books,  papers,  reading  and  meeting  rooms,  with  the  advantage 
of  the  supervision  and  the  advice  of  a  wise  father. 

Those  two  associations  had  had  a  good  moral  and  religious  effect 
on  the  young  men  in  the  schools.  The  July  Revolution  destroyed  them 
either  by  scattering  or  dividing  their  members.  But  listen  to  Ozanam  : 

"  Nothing  but  the  ruins  of  the  Societe  des  Bonnes  Etudes  remained, 
when  a  friend  suggested  to  me  to  re-open  its  doors.  The  literary  society 
which  then  foregathered  in  the  small  rooms  of  M.  Bailly 's  paper  The 
Catholic  Tribune,  scarcely  numbered  15  regular  members.  Moreover 
the  rather  unscientific  surroundings  did  not  readily  lend  themselves 
to  serious  investigation.  Indeed  such  weighty  questions  as  the  fate 
of  the  past  and  the  future  would  be  slow  to  gain  a  hearing  in  such  a 
timid  gathering."  Nevertheless  it  is  of  this  cradle — or  was  it  a  grave  ? 
that  Ozanam  was  able  to  say  in  the  year  1833,  "  Thanks  to  the  zeal 
of  some  former  members,  this  Society  has  developed  in  a  most  extra 
ordinary  way." 

It  had  developed  by  transformation.  The  idea  occurred  to  M.  Bailly, 
the  man  destined  to  bind  together  the  youth  of  the  past  and  the  future, 
to  organise  conferences  of  Literature,  History,  and  Philosophy,  to 
Avhich  Christian  students  would  rally.  He  proposed  to  recruit  the 
latter,  who  were  few  in  number,  according  as  it  would  seem  good  to 
him,  from  outside  groups,  whom,  he  did  not  wish  to  exclude  altogether. 

It  is  a  propos  of  this  conference  that  Ozanam  wrote  soon  after : 
""  Applications  for  membership  are  on  the  increase.  We  have  got 
some  young  recruits  of  superior  ability,  among  whom  are  to  be 
found  great  travellers,  Art  critics,  experts  in  Political  Economy. 


36  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

The  majority  read  History,  some  Philosophy.  We  have  even  some 
who  are  endowed  with  poetic  genius,  and  who  will  one  day  be  great 
poets,  if  death  or  the  storms  of  life  do  not  interrupt  their  development.'* 
We  shall  meet  them  again  in  the  course  of  the  great  work. 

The  Salon  of  the  young  Count  Charles  de  Montalembert  was  on 
Sundays  the  rendezvous  of  a  very  select  coterie.  Frederick  Ozanam 
was  introduced  by  Ballanche.  The  diversity  of  age  and  intellect  to 
be  found  there  was  very  striking.  Ozanam's  letters  tell  us  of  savants 
like  Baron  Eckstein,  philosophers  like  Ballanche,  poets  like  Alfred  de 
Vigny,  the  Polish  Mickiewiez,  and  even  Sainte-Beuve  who,  destined 
to  wander  through  many  worlds,  was  then  curiously  exploring  the 
Catholic  world  ;  intellectual  opponents  like  Lherminier,  dreamers 
awakened  by  the  misery  of  the  people,  like  Considerant.  Felix  de 
Merode  had  been  there  ;  Victor  Hugo  was  to  come.  "  Last  Sunday," 
wrote  Ozanam,  "  I  had  a  conversation  with  Lherminier.  Then  a  very 
interesting  discussion  sprang  up  between  him  and  Montalembert. 
We  remained  listening  to  them  until  midnight.  Victor  Considerant 
was  also  of  the  circle  ;  there  was  much  talk  about  the  existing  misery 
of  the  people,  and  gloomy  anticipations  were  formed  for  the  future." 
The  dominating  question  which  absorbed  every  one's  attention  was 
the  Social  Problem.  Montalembert,  then  in  all  his  youthful  brillancy, 
"  did  the  honours  in  his  salon  with  extraordinary  grace,"  which 
Ozanam  particularly  noticed.  "  Montalembert,"  he  wrote,  "  has  the 
figure  of  an  angel  and  the  conversation  of  a  savant.  He  tells  a  story 
well  and  has  a  fund  of  information.  We  discuss  history,  literature, 
the  interests  of  the  poor,  the  progress  of  civilisation."  The  only 
questions  expressly  excluded  were  points  of  doctrine  (such  as  those 
professed  by  L'Avenir  "),  on  which  Rome  had  commanded  silence. 
In  this  regard  the  greatest  tact  and  prudence  were  observed. 

"  One  breathes  there  a  delicious  atmosphere  of  Catholicity  and  of 
fraternity.  One  is  encouraged,  one's  heart  is  warmed,  and  one  brings 
back  a  sweet  feeling  of  satisfaction,  of  a  pure  pleasure,  a  soul  mistress 
of  herself,  courage  and  resolution  for  the  future.  We  return  in 
joyous  groups  of  four  and  five.  I  hope  to  go  there  occasionally." 

This  page  finishes  with  a  rallying  battle-cry  :  "  The  future  is  before 
us.  Comrades,  let  us  prepare  and  be  ready  for  it ;  let  us  stand  against 
all  enemies,  let  us  face  every  trial.  Let  us  remember  that  suffering 
is  a  condition  of  progress  and  that  friendship  sweetens  sorrows  which 
we  cannot  escape. 


CIVIL  WAR  AND  CHOLERA  37 

In  every  letter  addressed  to  those  friends  whom  he  left  in  Lyons, 
Ozanam  braces  himself  and  others  to  an  active  Christian  life. 

The  young  man  had  even  then  a  presentiment  of  the  disasters  which 
were  reserved  for  the  end  of  his  time.  The  following  lines  show 
extraordinary  foresight  in  this  regard  :  "  If  courage  is  needed  to  live 
now-a-days,  it  will  be  still  more  necessary  in  the  immediate  future. 
The  best  informed  minds  all  tell  us  that  we  have  come  to  the  beginning 
of  a  series  of  disasters  and  universal  upheavals.  Governments  and 
peoples  are  standing  face  to  face  as  enemies.  In  France  the  Repub 
lican  party  is  growing  strong  and  no  longer  conceals  its  designs  of 
violence.  A  policy  of  extermination  grounded  on  hatred  is  declared. 
I  believe  that  civil  war  is  imminent,  and  all  Europe,  entangled  in  the 
meshes  of  Freemasonry,  will  be  its  theatre." 

The  calamities  of  the  year  1832  supervened  and  added  to  his  sadness. 
Civil  War  bathed  his  native  city,  Lyons,  in  blood .  Riots  broke  out  daily 
in  Paris  where  cholera  also  spread  death  and  terror.  At  one  period 
1300  deaths  a  day  were  recorded.  The  scourge  carried  off  nearly 
every  one  on  one  side  of  the  street  Fosses-Saint-Victor,  while  the 
opposite  side,  where  M.  Ampere  lived,  seemed  immune.  Ozanam 
writes  to  his  mother  translating  one  of  the  Psalms  at  Complin  :  "A 
thousand  shall  fall  on  thy  side,  and  ten  thousand  on  thy  right  hand. 
But  death  shall  not  come  nigh  thee,  because  thou  hast  said,  Thou 
O  Lord  art  my  hope  ;  thou  hast  made  the  Most  High  thy  refuge." 
Though  this  letter,  so  full  of  faith  and  courage  cannot  be  found  we 
have  been  informed  that  Madame  Ozanam  read  it  to  his  friends  with 
deep  emotion. 

His  family  pressed  him  to  return,  but  the  young  man  prayed  to  be 
allowed  to  remain  in  Paris.  He  urged  the  necessity  of  his  studies 
and  the  nearness  of  his  examination.  The  consolation  of  charity, 
which  he  carried  to  the  bedside  of  his  sick  friends,  helped  to  bind  him 
to  Paris.  One  of  these  latter,  the  Parish  Priest  of  Notre  Dame  des 
Champs,  afterwards  Abbe  Duchesne,  always  spoke  with  pleasure  of 
the  frequent  and  cheerful  visits  which  he  received  in  those  dark  days. 
The  Abbe's  tastes  were  literary.  When  convalescing,  he  asked  Ozanam 
to  get  him  some  suitable  reading.  The  next  day  he  was  brought  the 
account  of  the  three  great  classical  pestilences  in  literature,  viz.,  that 
of  Athens  by  Thucydides,  that  described  by  Lucretuis,  and  that  of 
Milan  in  /  Promessi  Sposi  of  Manzoni ;  the  last,  transformed  into 
a  sublime  spectacle  of  consolation  by  the  Christian  devotion  and  heroic 


38  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

charity  of  Cardinal  Borromeo.     That  is  what  he  exactly  desired  to 
demonstrate. 

There  is  a  species  of  artificial  melancholy,  which  the  young  man  of 
action  repudiates  with  energy.  "  Are  you  still  weighed  down  with  a 
sweet  sadness?"  he  asked  Falconnett.  "My  dear  friend,  let  there 
not  be  over  much  day-dreaming  and  academic  introspection.  Let  us 
rescue  our  studies  from  the  field  of  empty  theorising  and  vain  specula 
tion,  let  us  translate  during  life  our  beliefs  into  deeds."  Two  of  his 
Lyons  companions,  Fortoul  and  Huchard,  had  joined  the  long-haired 
band  of  young  France.  Ozanam  pities  them  :  "  Neither  Chateau 
briand,  nor  Lamartine  are  advanced  enough  for  them.  Nothing  will 
do  them  but  Victor  Hugo  :  Notre  Dame  de  Paris,  Plick  et  Plock,  A  tar 
Gull,  Marion  Delorme.  These,  for  them,  embrace  all  literature." 

He  suffered  from  uncertainty  of  temper  and  indifferent  health, 
against  which,  however,  his  natural  good  humour  asserted  itself. 
"  I  often  scold  myself  and  pout,  but  I  always  end  by  making  peace  with 
myself  although  I  be  but  a  sorry  lord.  By  increased  effort  I  shall 
merit  success  ....  My  dear  friend,  for  you,  gravity,  for  me,  energy, 
for  both,  the  instruction  of  our  fathers,  the  example  of  our  mothers, 
the  kindness  of  Providence.  Then,  perhaps,  it  will  be  one  day  vouch 
safed  to  us  to  leave  behind  us  some  little  good,  to  be  recognised  as  men 
of  good  will  in  the  ranks  of  the  sages." 

That  steadiness  of  conviction  and  resolution,  that  courage,  that 
certainty,  in  the  first  steps  of  his  career,  which  Ozanam  has  j  ust  attri 
buted  to  the  instruction  and  example  of  his  parents  were  also  largely 
to  be  attributed  in  Paris,  to  the  daily  example  of  the  holy  layman 
whose  guest  he  was,  and  to  the  direction  of  a  humble  priest,  whose 
name  we  shall  now  mention. 

The  greater  of  the  two,  M.  Andre-Marie  Ampere,  was  not  only  a 
second  father  to  Ozanam,  he  was  at  all  times  a  religious  model.  M. 
Ampere,  as  the  young  man  wrote  to  his  mother,  was  completing  at 
this  time  his  great  synthetic  work,  the  Classification  des  Sciences  or  the 
Philosophic  des  Sciences.  Having  recognised  the  beautiful  gifts  of 
mind  which  Providence  had  given  the  young  man,  he  called  him  to 
the  honour  of  helping  in  the  work  under  his  dictation.  The  pages 
still  bear  witness  to  that  fact,  written  partly  by  one  and  partly  by  the 
other.  Their  daily  discourse  on  the  Laws  of  the  Universe  evoked 
from  the  soul  of  the  savant  spontaneous  outbursts  of  admiration  and 
adoration  of  Him  Who  made  those  laws.  Ozanam  describes  moments 


THE  ABBfi  MARDUEL  39 

of  enthusiasm  when  Ampere,  putting  his  head,  filled  with  knowledge 
and  crowned  with  honour,  between  his  hands,  cried  out  in  transport : 
"  Ozanam,  how  great  God  is,  how  mighty  He  is  I"  Ampere  adored 
the  God  of  the  universe  in  His  temple.  Ozanam  relates  that  one  day, 
when  anxious  and  downcast,  he  entered  the  Church  of  St.  fitienne-du- 
Mont  to  unbosom  himself.  The  Church  was  empty  and  silent.  A  few 
women  were  kneeling  at  the  Shrine  of  St.  Genevieve.  Alone  in  a 
corner,  the  figure  of  a  man  appeared  motionless,  absorbed  in  prayer. 
Ozanam  saw  him,  drew  near,  and  recognised  Ampere,  humbled  in  the 
Divine  Presence.  Having  observed  him  for  a  few  moments  he  went 
away  much  edified,  and  more  than  ever  devoted  to  the  service  of  God  ! 

It  was  a  great  matter  for  M.  Ampere  that  Ozanam  desired  to  remain 
in  Paris  during  the  cholera  scourge,  to  replace  the  old  man's  absent 
son.  We  have  shown  that  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  same  street 
neighbours  were  struck  down  and  died  in  a  few  short  moments.  Fear 
ing  a  like  fate,  M.  Ampere,  whose  room  was  directly  over  the  young 
student's,  did  not  fail  to  say  each  night  on  retiring  :  'Ozanam,  if  the 
cholera  grips  me  to-night,  I  shall  knock  with  rny  stick  on  the  floor. 
Do  not  come  upstairs,  but  run  first  for  my  confessor  the  Abbe  X.  .  . 
rue  de  Sevres,  and  then  send  for  my  doctor." 

Ozanam  recalled  with  gratitude  such  beautiful  instances  of  Christian 
ity  when  standing  by  the  grave  of  his  second  father  :  "  The  venerable 
head,  that  judged  everything,  including  science  itself,  in  the  light  of 
divine  things,  bent  down  unreservedly  before  the  divine  mysteries, 
and  humbled  itself  before  sacred  teaching.  He  knelt  at  the  same  altar 
as  Descartes  and  Pascal,  by  the  side  of  the  poor  widow  and  the  little 

child,  less  humble  than  he If  he  leaves  a  great  void 

among  the  intellectual  elite,  what  sorrow  does  he  not  also  leave  in 
the  hearts  of  those,  who  had  the  privilege  of  knowing  him  intimately 
and  of  enjoying  the  benefits  of  his  example  and  of  his  virtues  !" 

The  other  name  that  must  be  mentioned  in  the  first  rank  of  the 
guides  of  Ozanam 's  youth  during  the  five  years  of  his  student  life  in 
Paris  is  not  widely  known.  I  have  not  hitherto  named  the  director 
and  true  spiritual  father  of  that  soul.  Abbe  Marduel  had  first  been 
Vicar  of  St.  Nizier,  in  Lyons,  and  was  later  called  to  Paris  to  his  uncle, 
the  Parish  Priest  of  St.  Roch.  He  was  now  advanced  in  years,  living 
quietly  in  retirement  in  rooms  in  the  Rue  Massillon,  near  Notre-Dame. 
Here  penitents  of  every  class  had  found  him  out,  bishops,  priests, 
peers  of  France,  lords,  doctors,  students,  workmen,  poor  people; 


40  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

for  all  were  received  with  the  same  welcome,  treated  with  the 
same  kindness.  Everyone  was  at  ease  with  him.  He  was  simple, 
wise,  well-informed,  prudent  and  pious ;  praying  always  and 
telling  his  beads  when  failing  sight  prevented  him  from  reading  his 
office.  He  had  become  very  poor,  had  parted  with  everything,  and 
only  possessed  the  poor  pittance  that  St.  Roch  parish  allowed  him, 
and  which  he  shared  with  those  poorer  than  he,  the  while  his  old 
servant  ransacked  the  city  to  procure  the  necessaries  of  life  for  him. 

His  sanctity,  his  continual  union  with  God,  had  gained  for  him 
supernatural  power  in  the  direction  of  souls, — which  he  seemed  to 
be  able  to  see  and  read.  He  dispelled  clouds  and  illusions,  bringing 
in  their  place  light  and  peace  and  joy.  He  was  indeed  the  priest 
needed  by  Ozanam,  whose  sensitive  conscience  was  often  subjected 
to  interior  trials  revealed  to  us  in  his  letters. 

It  was  to  Pere  Marduel  that  Frederick  had  been  recommended,  on 
his  departure  from  Lyons,  by  his  parents  and  by  the  Abbe  Ozanam,  who 
had  himself  been  a  short  time  before  under  the  same  direction  :  "One 
need  not  be  astonished,"  the  latter  states,  "  at  the  progress  made  by 
the  young  student  in  this  school  of  gentle  piety.  His  well  deserved 
confidence  in,  and  deference  to  the  counsels  of  this  wise  intellect,  the 
divine  enlightenment  which  he  received,  the  sacred  fire  which  was 
there  enkindled,  enabled  him,  with  the  grace  of  God,  to  triumph 
in  the  interior  spiritual  struggle  for  truth  and  virtue.  Under  his 
direction,  this  well-beloved  brother,  notwithstanding  his  many  occu 
pations,  found  plenty  of  time  each  day  for  meditation  and  prayer." 
He  could  not  do  without  the  all-powerful  aid,  which  this  priest  brought 
him  in  the  frequent  use  of  the  Sacraments.  In  May  1833,  Pere  Marduel 
was  absent  for  a  month  in  Lyons.  Frederick  complained  to  his  mother 
of  the  length  of  that  absence,  which  left  his  moral  state  troubled  and 
perplexed.  "He  is  the  only  intimate  spiritual  adviser  that  I  have, 
the  only  one  who,  in  kindness  and  wisdom,  can  take  the  place  of  father 
and  mother.  He  is  due  to  return  this  evening  and  I  hope  to  see  him 
to-morrow.  As  I  am  shy  at  making  new  acquaintances,  I  have  been 
left  all  this  time  to  the  caprices  of  my  own  fancy  and  imagination." 

Then  comes  the  conclusion  which  is  a  tribute  to  the  efficacy  of 
Confession  :  "  In  very  truth,  if  there  be  young  Protestants  of  good 
will,  enlightened  and  religious,  I  pity  them,  because  they  lack  a  source 
of  grace,  of  which  my  own  youth  stands  so  sorely  in  need,  and  without 
which  I  should  be  altogether  desolate  or  morbid." 


CHAPTER  IV. 
ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  PROPAGATION  OF  TRUTH. 

PROTESTS  AT  THE    SORBONNE. — PETITION    TO    THE    ARCHBISHOP,    INTER 
VIEWS. — CONFERENCES   IN    NOTRE  DAME. — SUBSCRIPTION    TO    THE 
CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY  OF  LOUVAIN. 

1832-34. 

We  are  still  in  the  year  1832,  Ozanam's  first  year  in  Paris.  The 
groups  of  Catholic  young  men,  which  have  been  noticed  around  certain 
centres,  such  as  M.  Bailly's  flat,  or  the  literary  and  political  salon  of 
M.  de  Montalembert,  or  the  conferences  in  the  Law  School,  commence 
at  this  point  to  single  out  from  among  their  own  ranks,  one  distingusihed 
by  a  great  charm  of  heart,  even  more  than  by  ability  or  oratory.  It 
is  found,  without  either  himself  or  anyone  else  adverting  to  it  or 
desiring  it,  that  he  is  the  comrade  who  is  listened  to,  the  model  who 
is  imitated,  the  guide  who  is  followed. 

Ozanam  was  neither  remarkable  for  personal  beauty  nor  for  winning 
manners.  It  was  his  natural  charm  and  simplicity  which  first 
awakened  sympathy.  Subsequently,  the  lofty  quality  of  his  mind 
and  heart  bound  others  to  him  for  ever.  He  invariably  presented  - 
the  dreamy  appearance  that  comes  from  frequent  meditation.  But 
it  was  not  at  all  moodiness  ;  his  disposition  was  sweet ;  he  delighted 
in  cheerful  company  and  he  was  more  than  once  heard  to  say  that 
"  his  worst  company  was  himself."  Truly  humble,  he  never  pushed 
himself  forward.  He  had  but  to  unconsciously  appear  himself  as  he 
really  was,  to  inspire  good  men  with  a  desire  to  know  him,  and  with  a 
longing  to  approach  him.  It  was  in  that  way  that  his  first  friends  in 
Paris  were  attracted. 

The  membership  of  the  group  was  naturally  formed  of  young 
students  from  Lyons,  whom  civic  patriotism  and  similar  religious 
sentiments  brought  together.  Ozanam  often  mentions  Henri  Pesson- 
neaux,  his  affectionate  cousin  who,  not  being  able  to  do  without  him, 


42  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

crossed  Paris  on  foot  each  evening  from  the  Rue  de  Courcelles  to  the 
Montagne  St.  Genevieve,  to  satisfy  himself  that  Frederick  was  well. 
He  then  discreetly  took  his  departure  without  delay,  so  as  not  to 
interrupt  this  student.  The  painter  Janmot  was  also  from  Lyons, 
a  friend  of  Ozanam  from  childhood,  and  his  companion  at  first  Holy 
Communion.  He  had  forgotten  nothing  of  this.  A  distinguished 
pupil  of  M.  Ingres,  a  charming  character,  a  man  of  cultivated  manner, 
he  was  an  artist  who  was  also  a  Christian,  and  was  enamoured  of  the 
Divine  Beauty  which  he  adored.  M.  Velay  was  also  from  Lyons, 
and  was  then  at  the  Polytechnic.  Ozanam  witnessed  with  regret 
his  departure  to  take  up  his  residence  in  the  School  of  Engineering 
in  Metz,  where  he  wrote  him  :  "  We  shall  not  hear  again  your  military 
step  on  the  staircase  of  the  Hotel  des  £coles,  nor  the  rattle  of  your 
splendid  sword  on  the  floor  of  my  room  !  But  you  are  missed,  you 
are  spoken  of,  you  are  remembered,  and  when  a  letter  from  you  arrives, 
it  is  passed  round  the  circle."  Dufieux  was  also  from  Lyons,  a  great 
and  a  brave  heart,  who,  sorely  tried  in  later  years  by  cruel  experiences, 
knew  no  better  nor  more  sympathetic  friend  than  him  who  wrote  : 
"  I  love  you  in  Him  Who  loves  us  both.  Offer  to  Him  on  my  behalf 
some  of  those  holy  things  which  make  you  so  dear  to  Him  and  to  me." 

I  should  have  mentioned  earlier,  Edmond  Le  Jouteux  ;  Chaurand  too, 
who  will  be  found  with  Ozanam  at  the  foundation  of  the  conferences 
of  St.  Vincent  De  Paul  in  Lyons ;  Paul  Brae  de  la  Perriere  !  Frederick 
is  astonished,  nay,  vexed  with  himself,  that  he  had  not  known  him, 
a  Lyons  man,  in  Lyons  before  his  student  days  in  Paris :  "  But  God, 
who  draws  the  clouds  together  to  scatter  the  lightning,  also  draws 
souls  together,  when  He  is  pleased,  to  radiate  love." 

One  day,  when  he  was  present  at  the  course  of  Oriental  Archaeology 
at  the  College  of  France,  Professor  Letronne,  Geographer,  Egyptologist, 
Chronologist,  the  highest  scientific  authority  of  the  time  in  that  branch 
of  science,  was  at  some  pains  to  demolish  what  he  contemptuously 
called  "the  legend  of  Genesis."  Ozanam,  silent  but  restless,  shook  his 
head  significantly  in  dissent.  He  was  noticed  by  another  student 
who  was  also  of  his  way  of  thinking.  After  the  lecture,  he  looked 
for  him  to  compare  notes.  Ozanam  had  gone,  but  not  for  good.  They 
found  one  another  again. 

Lallier — for  it  was  he — gave  the  following  account  to  a  friend,  who 
has  given  us  the  account  word  for  word,  of  their  coming  together : 
"As  I  left  the  Law  School,  generally  alone,  I  noticed  that  a  small 


GROUPING  OF  FRIENDS  43 

group  of  students,  always  composed  of  the  same  members,  were  stand 
ing  on  the  footpath  near  the  Rue  Soufflot.  In  the  middle  of  the  group 
was  one  who  spoke  warmly,  and  who  was  listened  to.  Who  is,  I  asked 
myself,  this  young  chanticleer  (sic)  to  whom  those  fellows  pay  so  much 
attention? — I  recognised  Ozanam.  Moved  by  curiosity,  as  well  as  by 
sympathy,  I  drew  near  the  group  and  j  oined  in  the  conversation .  Ozanam 
replied  to  my  remarks.  When  the  others  had  dispersed,  after  a  little 
while,  we  two  resumed  the  conversation,  exchanging  views,  getting 
to  understand  one  another  better.  Thus  occupied,  we  accompanied 
each  other  home  from  lodgings  to  lodgings  interminably."  In  Lallier, 
Ozanam  found  a  brother-in-arms. 

On  another  occasion  it  was  on  the  steps  of  the  Law  School  that 
Ozanam  was  noticed  by  a  comrade.  The  latter  wonders,  who  is  this 
silent,  observant  young  man,  quite  up-to-date  in  appearance  and 
manners.  On  leaving  the  Church  of  St.  fitienne-du-Mont,  he  happened 
to  find  himself  face  to  face  with  him,  and,  recognising  him,  stretches 
out  his  hand  :  "  What  !  you  are  then  a  Catholic  ?  Please  excuse  me, 
as  I  thought  you  were  anything  but  that.  Let  us  become  friends." 
This  young  man  was  M.  de  Goy.  Determined  above  all  things 
to  avoid  evil  companions,  he  had  spent  six  months  in  Paris  without 
a  friend. 

Other  affinities  constituted  the  bond  of  friendship  :  birth,  education, 
profession,  and,  above  all,  conviction.  The  father  of  a  second  year's 
law  student,  Paul  Lamache,  from  St.  Pierre-Eglise  in  La  Manche, 
was  a  doctor,  his  brother  a  priest  just  like  Ozanam's,  he  had  two  sisters, 
wholly  given  up  to  God  and  the  poor,  even  as  Ozanam's  young  sister 
had  been.  He  had  played  the  same  part  at  th^  College  of  Rouen, 
that  Frederick  had  played  at  that  of  Lyons,  a  defender  and  apostle 
of  faith.  He  had  found  a  friend  and  a  guide  in  his  Master,  Pere 
Faucon,  just  as  Ozanam  had  found  in  his  Professor,  Pere  Noirot. 
"  Moreover,"  says  his  biographer,  "  both  the  sturdy  Norman  and  the 
frail  and  delicate  Lyons  youth  had  dreams  in  common,  which  are  to 
be  found  in  their  correspondence  ;  so  many  marks  of  intellectual  and 
moral  relationship."  From  the  day  they  met  at  the  feet  of  the  same 
masters  they  recognised  one  another  for  brothers.  The  three  names 
of  Ozanam,  Lallier,  and  Lamache  will  not  be  again  found  separated 
in  the  early  part  of  this  history. 

Others  joined  up  in  the  same  way.  They  must  aim  at  the  same  goal. 
Ozanam  wrote,  that  it  was  time  to  rally  them  around  one  flag  ;  the 


44  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

flag  of  the  defence  of  religion  against  impudent  and  insolent  irreligion. 

Everything  hastened  the  necessity  for  that  defence.  The  attack 
was  violent.  Anti-Christianity  raged  in  the  Press,  the  schools,  the 
hustings.  There  was  every  support  for  doctrines  which  were  called 
liberal,  and  which  under  the  July  regime  gave  full  play  to  every  form 
of  free  thought  and  party  passion.  The  University  especially  was 
taking  full  revenge  for  the  discipline  under  which  it  had  groaned  during 
the  Restoration.  The  Sorbonne,  the  College  of  France,  were  parti 
cularly  aggressive.  Our  young  Catholics  who  were  not  obscurantists 
returned  from  those  schools  in  pain,  in  anger,  and  in  revolt. 

But  they  were  in  a  decided  minority.  Discouragement  was  general 
even  in  the  counsels  of  the  Church  in  France.  With  timid  silence 
on  the  one  hand,  and  brazen  falsehood  on  the  other,  what  could  they 
do,  that  handful  of  boys,  against  the  voice  of  the  recognised  masters  of 
science  and  eloquence,  borne  on  the  wings  of  power  and  popular  favour? 
To  listen  in  silence,  to  register  no  protest  !  That  they  did  not  wish 
to  do.  To  write  to  the  Press  ?  They  would  not  be  read.  They  de 
cided  to  oppose  speech  to  the  spoken  word,  face  to  face,  on  the  same 
ground,  at  the  same  moment,  to  the  same  audience,  whose  pardon  and 
good-will  they  hoped  to  win,  in  the  names  of  truth  and  liberty. 

In  a  letter,  dated  loth  February,  1832,  that  is  to  say,  only  four 
months  after  his  arrival  in  Paris,  Ozanam  gave  the  following  account 
of  the  plan  of  campaign  against  the  anti-Christian  teaching  at  the 
Sorbonne  :  "  We  have  in  our  growing  ranks  young  men  of  noble  dis 
position  who  have  given  themselves  up  to  this  great  work.  Every 
time  that  a  Professor  raises  his  voice  against  Revelation,  Catholic 
voices  are  raised  in  protest  !  Many  of  us  have  agreed  to  do  that. 
On  two  different  occasions  I  have  taken  my  share  in  this  noble  work, 
by  sending  in  my  objections  in  writing  to  those  gentlemen.  Our  replies, 
which  are  read  out,  have  had  the  best  possible  effect  both  on  the  Pro 
fessor,  who  all  but  retracted,  and  on  the  class,  who  applauded.  The 
most  striking  result  is,  that  it  shows  the  young  student,  that  it 
is  possible  to  be  a  Catholic  and  have  common  sense,  to  love  religion 
and  liberty  at  the  same  time.  It  serves  to  withdraw  young  men  from 
religious  indifference,  and  to  accustom  them  to  the  discussion  of 
serious  matters." 

A  letter  written  to  Ernest  Falconnet  adds  :  "Our  cause  is  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel.  I  shall  let  you  know  all  that  will  be  done  by  us  for 
the  honour  and  the  victory  of  this  holy  cause." 


JOUFFROY'S    LECTURES  45 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  less  than  two  months  later,  on  the  25th  March, 
he  writes  that  the  first  affairs  "  were  but  skirmishes,"  adding  :  "  To 
day,  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  tell  you  that  we  are  engaged  in  a  more 
serious  encounter.  The  scene  of  the  Battle  is  the  Chair  of  Philosophy, 
M.Jouffroy's  lectures. 

Attached  to  the  Sorbonne,  President  of  Conferences  at  the  ficole 
Normale,  in  charge  of  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  College  of  France, 
Deputy  for  his  constituency  of  Pontarlier  since  1831,  Theodore  Jouffroy, 
at  the  age  of  36,  was,  by  the  elevation  of  his  mind  and  the  authority 
of  his  speech,  one  of  the  leaders  of  free  thought.  He  was  the  man  of 
evil  omen  who,  in  his  famous  Globe  article,  Whither  Dogma  Leads, 
was  sounding  by  degrees  the  knell  of  Christianity.  He  was  the  unquiet, 
and  troubled  pschycologist  who  presented  in  a  splendid  way  The 
Problem  of  Human  Destiny,  the  solution  of  which  was  only  to  be  found, 
according  to  him,  in  a  helpless  and  plaintive  scepticism.  Under  those 
flowers  of  speech  Ozanam  declared  that  he  saw  nothing  but  ruins, 
ruins  both  of  faith  and  reason,  on  which  the  philosopher,  with  un 
certain  hand,  was  ready  to  rear  the  temple  of  future  religion.  He 
exclaimed  :  "Such  is  M.  Jouffroy's  preaching  in  the  Sorbonne,  the 
ancient  Sorbonne,  which  Christianity  founded,  and  the  dome  of  which 
is  still  crowned  with  the  the  sign  of  the  Cross." 

Ozanam  described  his  protest  as  follows,  without,  however,  men 
tioning  his  own  name  :  "  M.  Jouffroy,  having  gratuitously  attacked 
Revelation,  and  even  the  possibility  of  Revelation,  a  young  Catholic 
layman  sent  him  a  reply  thereto  in  writing.  The  philosopher 
promised  to  answer  it ;  he  deferred  his  answer  a  fortnight,  do^<  vtless 
to  get  his  weapons  ready.  At  the  end  of  this  period  he  did  not  read 
out  the  letter  of  protest,  but  summarised  it  from  his  own  point  of  view, 
and  endeavoured  to  reply  to  that.  The  young  Catholic,  finding  him 
self  misrepresented,  sent  in  a  second  letter  to  the  Professor.  The 
latter  took  no  notice  of  it,  made  no  reference  to  it,  but  continued  his 
attacks,  claiming  that  Catholicity  was  inconsistent  with  Science  and 
liberty. 

"Thereupon  we  came  together;  we  drew  up  a  joint  protest 
proclaiming  our  sentiments ;  it  had  fifteen  signatures  hurriedly 
attached  to  it  and  was  forwarded  to  M.  Jouffroy.  This  time  there  was 
no  course  left  open  to  him  but  to  read  it  -aloud.  The  large  audience, 
over  two  hundred  in  number,  listened  to  our  profession  of  faith  with 
respect.  The  philosopher  laboured  in  vain  to  reply.  He  fashioned 


46  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

excuses,  assuring  all  that  he  had  no  desire  to  single  out  Christianity 
for  attack ;  that  he  had  the  greatest  possible  respect  for  it,  and  that 
in  the  future  he  would  see  that  no  form  of  religious  belief  was  offended. 
But  more  important  still,  he  stated  a  very  remarkable  fact,  and  one 
which  gave  great  encouragement  at  that  particular  time:  "Gentle 
men,"  he  said,  "  for  the  last  five  years  the  only  objections  I  received 
came  from  materialists  ;  it  was  spiritual  doctrine  that  found  the 
greatest  possible  opposition  ;  to-day  all  is  changed,  the  objections  are 
all  from  Catholics." 

What  Ozanam  had  put  forward  was  simply  an  expression  of 
the  inability  of  science  to  satisfy  the  intellectual  needs  of  man, 
the  poverty  of  natural  knowledge  to  fill  the  human  mind,  hungry 
for  supernatural  enlightenment,  the  actual  instability  of  reason  as  a 
foundation  for  moral  conduct.  But,  then,  what  follows  immediately 
and  directly  from  these  three  facts,  if  not  the  necessity  for  Revelation  ? 

Such  was  his  letter,  with  a  pious  and  fraternal  conclusion  for  the 
benefit  of  the  young  student  of  Lyons,  whom  he  expects  at  Paris : 
"  As  for  you,  my  dear  friend,  prepare  for  the  struggle  by  the  practice 
of  the  Gospel  which  you  will  be  called  upon  to  defend.  Pray  for  us 
who  are  entering  on  our  career  and  who  stretch  out  our  hands  to  you 
with  a  great  and  fraternal  friendship,  while  awaiting  the  day  when 
you  will  take  your  place  in  our  ranks." 

Thus  was  our  young  Daniel  prophesying,  in  the  name  of  the  true 
God,  before  princes  and  sages.  Thus  did  the  Professors  of  the  Sor- 
bonne  iearn  to  know  him  who,  ten  years  later,  was  to  sit  in  their  midst, 
and  to  become  their  colleague.  Meantime  they  became  more  moderate 
in  their  language.  Perhaps  he  who  profited  most  was  the  same 
Theodore  Jouffroy,  who  said  later,  when  dying  :  "All  these  systems 
lead  nowhere.  A  single  act  of  Christian  faith  is  worth  many  thousand 
such." 

In  very  truth  the  grace  and  light  of  God  were  at  that  time  resting 
on  the  young  man  scarce  20  years  of  age,  whose  lips  and  whose  heart 
the  Divine  Hand  had  touched  and  sanctified.  It  is  still  in  the  very 
early  days  of  his  sojourn  in  Paris,  it  is  on  the  morrow  of  his  passionate 
and  lofty  protest  at  the  Sorbonne,  that  the  letter  dated  the  loth 
February  adds  :  "  The  most  attractive  and  most  edifying  meetings 
for  Christian  young  men  are  the  Conferences  which  the  Abbe  Gerbet 
has  inaugurated  at  our  request." 


OZANAM  AT  20  (AFTER  JANMOT). 


THE  ABB£  GERBET  47 

Ozanam  and  his  friends  had  sought  at  his  place  of  residence  in  the 
Sorbonne  the  priest,  then  34  years  of  age,  whom  Cousin  described  as 
"  A  mystical  angel."  Lecturer  on  Holy  Scripture  in  the  Faculty  of 
Theology  in  Paris,  founder  of  the  monthly  magazine  Le  Memorial 
Catholique,"  an  erudite  philosopher,  a  profound  theologian,  a  refined 
writer,  the  Abbe  Gerbet  had  published  in  1829  his  Considerations, 
both  dogmatic  and  mystical,  on  what  he  called  the  "  Motive  Dogma 
of  Catholic  Piety,"  that  is  the  Blessed  Eucharist.  He  sought  traces  of 
primitive  Revelation  in  universal  tradition  and  in  the  historical 
evidence  of  mankind.  In  this  he  was  akin  to  Ozanam  who  also  was 
tending  in  this  direction  and  who  wrote  as  follows  of  him  :  "  One  can 
now  say  that  light  is  piercing  the  darkness.  Every  fortnight  the 
Abbe  Gerbet  gives  us  a  lecture  on  the  Philosophy  of  History.  We  have 
never  heard  such  analytic  reasoning  nor  more  profound  doctrine. 
So  far  he  has  given  only  three  lectures,  yet  the  Hall  is  crowded  with 
celebrities,  and  with  young  men  thirsting  for  knowledge.  I  saw  de 
Potter,  Sainte-Beuve,  Ampere  junior,  drinking  in  the  teaching  of  the 
young  priest." 

Ozanam  noticed  that  "Lammenais'  system,  as  unfolded  by  the 
Abbe  Gerbet,  was  no  longer  the  same  as  that  of  Lammenais'  pro 
vincial  followers."  It  was  not  even  the  same  as  what  its  master 
claimed  to  be  the  foundation  of  evangelical  proof,  but  merely  a  pre 
liminary  series  of  inductive  proofs  leading  to  the  truth  of  Revelation. 
"It  is,"  continues  Ozanam,  "  the  representation  of  the  everlasting 
alliance  of  faith  and  science,  of  charity  and  labour,  of  power  and 
liberty.  Applied  to  history  it  enlightens  it,  it  unravels  the  destiny  of 
the  future.  There  were  not  any  tricks  of  the  charlatan  ;  his  voice  was 
weak,  his  gestures  awkward,  his  delivery  easy  and  quiet.  But  towards 
the  end  of  the  lecture  he  becomes  animated,  his  face  glows,  the  light 
of  Heaven  is  on  his  brow  and  prophecy  on  his  lips."  Have  we  not 
in  this  picture  of  the  Abbe  Gerbet  an  advance  portrait  of  Ozanam 
himself  as  he  is  remembered  by  his  audience  in  the  Sorbonne  ? 

But  those  conferences,  if  I  may  say  so,  with  closed  doors,  held  in  a 
Hall — that  of  the  Place  de  1'  Estrapade — capable  of  seating  not  more 
than  300  people,  were,  in  very  truth,  the  light  hidden  under  the  bushel. 
Ozanam  asked  himself  if  the  advantage  could  not  in  some  way  be 
extended  to  the  young  men  of  all  the  schools  ?  Why  should  not  Paris 
have,  somewhere,  its  chair  in  defence  of  truth,  answering  in  a  modern 
way  every  question  and  every  need  of  the  present  time  ?  Such  was 


48  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

the  burden  of  the  conversation  of  these  young  men  of  good  will.  But 
who  would  draw  up  the  petition  and  present  it  in  high  place  ? 

The  time  was  propitious.  Owing  to  deplorable  differences  St. 
Hyacinthe's  Academy  in  the  Madeleine — in  which  the  Abbe  Dupanloup 
had  given  a  brilliant  series  of  lectures  on  Apologetics  to  the  young  men 
— had  been  closed.  Its  closing  saddened  Ozanam  who  had  visited  it 
occasionally  out  of  curious  interest.  He  showed  his  sympathy  by 
attending  the  closing  meeting  not  without  emotion.  He  reflected 
on  leaving,  "  Will  there  not  then  be  in  Paris  one  Chair  of  doctrine 
at  the  feet  of  which  we  can  sit  for  enlightenment  ?"  "  Do  you  re 
member,"  he  wrote  later  to  Lallier,  "  do  you  remember  that  famous 
evening,  when  we  had  been  present  at  the  final  meeting  of  St. 
Hyacinthe's  Academy.  We  came  straight  back  and  without  parting, 
drew  up  the  petition  to  His  Grace  Monsignor  de  Quelen." 

This  was  in  the  early  days  of  June,  1833.  The  petition,  drawn  up 
by  Ozanam,  received  the  signatures  of  100  Catholics.  An  audience  was 
requested  of  His  Grace  the  Archbishop,  who  at  once  accorded  it. 
The  deputation  consisted  of  three  members,  Ozanam,  Le  Jouteux,  and 
de  Montazet,  grand-nephew  of  the  Archbishop  of  the  same  name. 
They  knew  that  the  Archbishop  himself  was  very  much  upset  by  the 
closing  of  Saint  Hyacinthe's  Academy,  and  that  the  cause  of  the  young 
men  was  going  to  be  prejudiced  by  that  fact.  It  was  no  skeleton  of  an 
Academy  housed  in  a  chapel,  frequented  by  the  initiated,  that  they 
had  come  to  ask  for.  It  was  no  less  than  the  institution  in  Notre  Dame 
itself,  of  a  Chair  of  preaching  which  would  be  a  sword  and  a  torch  for 
the  young  men  of  the  schools. 

The  Archbishop,  who  since  the  destruction  of  his  residence  had 
been  dwelling  in  the  Convent  of  the  Dames  de  Saint-Michel  Rue 
Saint  Jacques,  received  the  young  men  graciously.  Encouraged  by 
the  reception,  they  represented  to  him  the  state  of  mental  unrest  and 
"  the  need  for  a  chair  of  preaching,  which  in  a  modern  form,  and  on  the 
very  scene  of  daily  controversy,  should  engage  in  hand  to  hand  conflict 
with  the  adversaries  of  Christianity.  It  would  furnish  a  reply  to  the 
objections  and  difficulties  which  were  raised  daily  hi  public  courses 
of  lectures,  and  which  were  reproduced  and  popularised  in  books  and 
newspapers." 

The  Archbishop  replied  that  he  was  of  the  same  opinion  ;  then, 
appearing,  as  it  seemed,  to  be  caught  up  by  their  infectious  enthusiasm  : 
"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I,  too,  have  a  presentiment  that  some  great  event 


SECOND  PETITION  TO  HIS  GRACE  49 

is  in  course  of  preparation.  God  is  preparing  a  great  victory  in  our 
time."  He  then  assured  them  that  he  would  consider  their  petition 
carefully.  Thereupon,  having  blessed  them  and  taken  them  affec 
tionately  in  his  arms,  he  pressed  their  heads  against  his  breast,  saying 
with  great  emotion,  "  I  salute  in  you  all  Catholic  young  men." 

Nothing  was  done  on  that  occasion.  But  the  recollection  of  their 
reception  had  left  Ozanam  and  the  growing  number  of  his  friends  an 
undefined  hope  that  their  petition  had  not  been  in  vain.  Therefore, 
towards  the  beginning  of  the  following  Lent,  1834,  Ozanam  again 
ventured  to  approach  the  Archbishop.  The  new  petition  received 
200  signatures.  It  was  in  their  name  that  on  the  i5th  February, 
Ozanam,  Lallier  and  Lamache  were  admitted  into  the  kindly  and 
fatherly  presence.  The  petition  was  couched  in  beautiful  terms. 
It  first  recalled  "  the  gracious  reception  and  the  hopeful  words  which 
they  had  had  the  preceding  year.  Then,  moved  by  the  urgency  of 
the  need,  yet  grown  wiser  by  the  time  spent  in  waiting,  they  came  to 
pray  for  such  instruction  as  should  sanctify  science  in  their  eyes,  and 
demonstrate  it  and  faith  marching  hand  in  hand.  They  were  learning 
to  recognise  how  dry  and  barren  study  is,  which  is  not  animated  by  the 
spirit  of  religion." 

They  spoke  of  their  own  age,  in  which  man  felt  the  need  of  well- 
grounded  doctrine  to  co-ordinate  knowledge,  on  the  one  hand  by 
attaching  it  to  a  higher  order  of  ideas,  and,  on  the  other  by  laying  a 
foundation  of  duty,  and  by  tracing  the  path  of  future  life.  Religion 
alone  can  do  that ;  but  it  must  be  known  :  "  Therefore,  your  Grace, 
we  had  desired  those  conferences  which,  without  losing  time  in  refuting 
objections  which  are  to-day  outworn,  would  display  Christianity  in 
all  its  grandeur,  and  in  harmony  with  the  aspirations  and  necessities 
of  man  and  society." 

To  that  end  they  asked  for  "  an  exposition  of  the  philosophy  of 
science  and  art  which  would  discover  in  Catholicity  the  source  of  all 
truth  and  beauty;  of  the  philosophy  of  life,  which  would  show  its 
principle,  its  progress,  and  its  destiny.  They  desired  that  that 
instruction  should  come  from  the  pulpit,  because  the  grace  which 
fortifies,  the  enlightenment  which  converts,  flow  from  the  lips  of  the 
priest.  They  desired  that  at  the  feet  of  that  pulpit  and  in  the  same 
building  there  should  be  room  for  all,  believers  or  unbelievers,  all 
receiving  in  silence  the  seeds  of  conviction  which  would  germinate  in 
time.  Already  we  have  seen  many  of  our  fellow  students  return  to  the 


50  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

light.  They  had  strayed  from  it  because  they  did  not  recognise  it. 
Oh  !  if  we  could  only  see  that  example  followed  by  all  the  young  men 
of  the  schools  !  If  they  only  knew  the  beauty  of  Christianity  how 
they  would  love  it." 

The  petition  gave  a  glimpse  of  the  Society  of  Charity  which  was 
being  established  among  these  young  men,  united  by  brotherly  affec 
tion,  and  by  a  common  faith.  It  thus  concluded,  "  Then  a  chorus 
of  praise  to  God  will  ascend  from  all  these  souls  grounded  in  faith  or 
consoled  by  charity,  a  chorus  of  filial  gratitude  to  the  Church,  and 
benediction  of  Him  who  will  have  been  the  Author  of  all  this  good  !' 
At  the  conclusion  of  this  document  these  young  Christians  could  truly 
style  themselves  "The  most  humble  and  obedient  servants  of  His 
Grace,  and  his  devoted  children  in  Jesus  Christ." 

The  Archbishop  was  much  moved.  He  encouraged  Ozanam,  their 
spokesman,  to  speak  with  confidence,  so  struck  was  he  by  the  extra 
ordinarily  clear  views  of  a  youth  of  20  years  of  age.  The  latter  made 
bold  to  mention  the  names  of  two  priests  who  would  make  a  success 
of  the  undertaking.  There  could  not  be  any  question  of  the  Abbe 
Gerbet,  whose  weak  voice  would  not  be  able  to  reach  such  a  vast 
audience.  One  of  the  two  whom  they  mentioned  was  the  Abbe 
Bautain.  He  had  been  a  talented  student  of  M.  Cousin  at  the  £cole 
Normale  and  had  just  come  over  with  note  from  the  philosophy  of 
Rationalism  to  the  true  faith.  The  other  probable  candidate,  and 
obviously  the  better,  was  the  Abbe  Lacordaire,  whose  defence  before 
the  House  of  Peers,  with  Montalembert  in  his  Procts  de  l'£cole  libre, 
and  whose  able  collaboration  in  the  periodical  L'Avenir,  had  made  him 
dear  to  the  young  men. 

But  what  marked  him  out  now  for  their  choice  was  the  brilliant 
success  of  his  Conferences  at  Stanislaus  College.  From  the  iQth 
January,  when  they  had  been  inaugurated,  academic  and  political 
celebrities  had  surged  with  admiration  to  the  foot  of  the  modest  but 
now  celebrated  pulpit  in  the  all  too  narrow  chapel.  There  the  first 
sacred  orator  of  Paris  showed  himself  to  the  young  men  of  the  schools 
as  the  apologist  whom  they  wanted. 

But  those  very  qualities  which  recommended  Lacordaire  to  the 
young  men,  originality  of  mind  and  speech  adapted  to  the  modern  trend 
of  thought,  were  exactly  those  which  tended  to  make  him  suspect  to  the 
ancients  in  the  sanctuary.  The  latter  were  interested  defenders  of 
classical  traditions  and  of  ancient  ecclesiastical  formulas.  His  collabora- 


DECISION   OF   HIS   GRACE  51 

tion  in  the  editing  of  the  Avenir  was  moreover,  at  the  time  of  the  early 
defection  of  Lamennais,  not  a  recommendation.  Prejudiced  minds 
did  not  distinguish  between  those  who  remained  rooted  in  error,  and 
those  who  loyally  broke  with  it  at  any  and  every  sacrifice.  Had 
Ozanam's  frank  spirit  any  conception  of  the  mountain  of  prejudice 
which  he  would  have  to  remove  in  order  to  carry  at  the  first  assault 
Lacordaire  into  the  pulpit  of  Notre  Dame.  Without  expressing  any 
opinion  on  the  suggested  names,  Monsignor  de  Quelen,  naturally 
hesitating  and  halting,  informed  the  three  delegates  that  he  proposed 
to  make  such  a  beginning  as  would,  in  his  opinion,  satisfy  them.  This 
consisted  in  granting  them  not  one  preacher,  but  seven,  selected  from 
the  elite  of  his  clergy,  who  were  each  to  take  a  Sunday  in  Lent  and 
preach  in  turn  from  the  pulpit  of  Notre  Dame  on  the  lines  suggested. 
It  was  the  reply  of  a  man  of  1804  to  the  young  men  of  1834.  He  was 
asked  for  the  bread  of  Lacordaire,  he  offered  the  stone  of  Monsignor 
Frayssinous. 

"  While  the  conversation  on  this  delicate  subject  was  going  forward, 
the  delegates  presenting  their  objections  with  all  deference,  the  prelate 
insisting  on  his  solution,  the  door  of  the  salon  opened  and  M.  de 
Lamennais  appeared.  Monsignor  ran  to  meet  him,  shook  him  warmly 
by  the  hand  and  turning  to  the  young  men  said,  "  Here  is,  gentlemen, 
the  man  that  would  suit  you.  If  his  voice  could  be  heard  in  Notre 
Dame,  the  great  portals  of  the  metropolitan  would  be  too  small  to 
admit  the  crowds  whom  his  name  would  attract."  Whereupon — it  is 
Lamache  who  is  relating  the  incident — whereupon,  I  still  seem  to  see 
Lamennais,  raising  his  large  eyes  filled  with  inexpressible  sadness  saying  : 
"  As  for  me,  Monsignor,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  my  career  is  ended." 

It  was  indeed  at  an  end  ;  for  (a  fact  which  they  did  not  then  know), 
the  Paroles  d'un  Croyant  were  printed  and  about  to  be  published. 
The  three  young  men  arose  and  took  their  departure. 

The  following  day  an  account  of  the  interview  appeared  in  the 
Universe,  the  result  of  an  indiscretion.  Ozanam  and  Lallier,  who 
strongly  disapproved  of  it,  felt  bound  to  see  the  Archbishop  and 
apologise  for  it.  Monsignor  de  Quelen  received  them  as  he  had  done 
the  day  before.  To  show  them  how  anxious  he  was  to  meet  their 
wishes,  he  told  them  that  he  had  at  once  sent  for  the  preachers  whom 
he  had  named  and  that  they  were  actually  meeting  in  the  next  room. 
He  put  the  delegates  into  touch  with  them.  They  were  left  with 
these  seven  priests,  among  whom  the  best  known  were  the  Abbe 


52  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Dupanloup,  the  Abbe  Petetot.  The  others  were  Peres  Fraysse, 
Dassance,  Thibaut,  James,  Annat.  A  discussion  ensued  which  was 
at  first  somewhat  reserved,  but  which  became  more  animated.  It  was 
carried  on  with  the  best  possible  desire  to  understand  one  another 
and  under  the  delusion  that  they  would  succeed. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  no  chance  whatever  of  their  coming 
together.  Ozanam's  conviction  pushed  the  assault  to  the  extremest 
limits  without  as  much  as  piercing  the  first  line  of  their  defence.  They 
separated  without  understanding  each  other.  Ozanam,  on  his  return 
to  his  rooms,  drew  up  a  short  memorandum  for  the  Archbishop,  re 
inforcing  what  he  had  already  said  ;  it  was  his  last  cartridge,  and  it 
was  so  much  waste  powder.  The  series  of  the  seven  sermons  was 
opened  in  Notre  Dame  on  the  i6th  February  1834.  It  met  with  but 
a  paltry  success.  The  young  men  still  crowded  to  the  chapel  in 
Stanislaus  College  around  the  Abbe  Lacordaire. 

Lacordaire  about  this  time  received  his  first  visit  from  Ozanam, 
which  he  thus  described  in  1854  :  "  I  must  go  back  over  many  years 
for  my  first  meeting  with  Ozanam.  I  had  not  yet  commenced  the 
course  of  instruction,  which  gained  me  disciples  and  friends,  and 
I  was  unsettled  in  mind.  Just  at  that  moment  came  Ozanam,  the 
advance  guard  of  the  army  of  young  men  that  was  to  raise  me  out  of  my 
dejection  by  crowding  around  my  pulpit.  ...  It  was  in  the  winter 
of  1833-34.  He  appeared  to  be  about  20  years  of  age,  without  the 
fresh  beauty  of  youth.  Pale,  like  the  men  of  Lyons,  of  middle  height, 
without  grace,  his  eyes  shot  piercing  glances  while  his  face  presented  an 
appearance  of  gentleness.  His  brow  which  was  not  without  a  certain 
nobility,  was  adorned  with  a  fringe  of  thick  long  black  hair  which  gave 
him  a  certain  air  of  wildness  designated  by  the  Latin  word  incomptus 

What  did  he  want  of  me  at  that  time  ?  Ozanam  came  to 

me  because  he  was  a  Christian  and  I  was  a  priest.  But  he  also  came, 
urged  on  by  concern  for  all  that  he  held  dearest  in  the  world,  faith, 
country,  charity,  the  future  of  Christianity  and  Truth.  The  young  man 
had  arrived  in  Paris  to  find  the  ruins  caused  by  impiety  which  called  itself 
liberty.  The  fragile  edifice  (La  Congregation)  which  had  afforded  a  place 
of  refuge  to  those  few  who  had  perchance  survived,  no  longer  existed ; 
the  Revolution  of  1830  had  trampled  it  under  foot ;  and  Ozanam 
arrived  pure,  sincere  and  zealous,  to  find  himself  in  a  silent  void. 

"  It  never  occurred  to  him  that  God  had  sent  him  to  fill  that  void. 
Yet,  on  the  morrow  of  defeat,  he  was  to  be  one  of  the  first  to  acquire, 


LACORDAIRE  53 

in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  holy  power  of  a  popularity  without 
reproach.  As  for  us,  who  belonged  to  both  periods,  who  had  ex 
perienced  both  contempt  and  honour,  our  eyes  grew  moist  with  tears 
that  would  not  be  kept  back  at  the  prospect,  and  we  fell  down  in 
thanksgiving  to  Him  "  Who  cannot  err  in  His  gifts." 

How  best  to  state  that  the  conferences  in  Stanislaus  College  were 
suspended  ?  That,  when  Lacordaire  asked  to  be  allowed  to  resume 
them,  conditions  were  imposed,  which  neither  his  sense  of  dignity  nor 
his  sense  of  liberty  could  accept  ?  He  had  been  denounced  to  the 
Government  "  as  a  fanatical  Republican,  who  was  quite  capable  of 
turning  the  mind  of  the  young  men."  He  was  denounced  to  the 
Archbishop  as  a  preacher  of  novel  and  dangerous  doctrine.  Lacordaire 
withdrew  and  remained  silent. 

No  one  was  more  affected  by  this  counter-attack  than  the  young 
Christian,  who  had  based  great  hopes  on  those  addresses.  Nevertheless 
no  one  knew  better  than  he  how  to  maintain  his  hope  and  his  faith 
in  the  face  of  the  trial.  The  only  complaint  which  escaped  his  lips 
was  an  admirable  act  of  charity  for  his  brothers  in  misfortune,  and  of 
noble  submission  to  the  hand  of  God,  which  would  ever  be  his  sole, 
his  all-powerful  support.  He  wrote  as  follows  to  M.  Velay  : — 

"We  are  not  to  hear  Lacordaire  again.  It  is  a  great  grief  to  us 
who  needed  the  bread  of  the  Word,  and  who  had  grown  accustomed 
to  such  excellent  nourishment,  to  be  deprived  of  it  suddenly  without 
any  substitute.  It  is  still  a  greater  sorrow  for  us  to  see  our  brothers 
who  were  on  the  road  to  truth,  return  to  their  wandering  ways,  shaking 
their  heads  and  shrugging  their  shoulders." 

"  It  may  be  that  Heaven  demanded  that  silence,  that  abstention 
on  the  part  of  Catholics,  as  yet  another  sacrifice.  It  may  be  that  we 
had  dared  to  look  up  too  soon.  We  put  our  hope  in  the  speech  of  one 
man  ;  and  God  placed  His  hand  on  that  mouth,  to  teach  us  to  be 
Christians  without  him,  to  teach  us  to  do  without  everything  save  only 
faith  and  virtue."  That  half  page  is  pure  gold. 

Ozanam  knew  how  to  wait  without  allowing  his  weapons  for  religious 
defence  to  rust.  Exactly  two  months  later,  the  same  Catholic  young 
men,  who  protested  against  the  philosophic  teaching  in  the  Sorbonne, 
the  same  signatories  to  the  petition  for  the  institution  of  sermons  in 
Notre  Dame,  were  again  standing  shoulder  to  shoulder  defending  liberty 
and  truth  against  those  who  were  attacking  the  growing  Catholic 
University  of  Louvain. 


54  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Ozanam  wrote  as  follows  to  a  friend  :  "  You  must  lend  your  name 

and  hand  over  the  sum  of  one  smiling  under  the  following  circumstances. 

You  doubtless  are  aware  that  the  Belgian  Bishops  have  founded  a 

University.     As  such  an  institution  was  certain  to  be  a  brilliant  success 

in  such  a  Catholic  country  as  Belgium,  irreligion  has  become  alarmed  ; 

groups  of  students  from  the  State  University  of  Louvain  have  shouted 

insults  under  the  windows  of  two  of  the  Bishops ;   scurrilous  attacks 

have  also  appeared  in  the  Press.     We  have  thought  it  our  duty  to 

send  a  reply,  in  the  name  of  the  Catholic  youth  of  the  University  of 

France,  and  we  have  drawn  up  a  protest  which  has  been  inserted  in 

the  French  Gazette,  in  the  Catholic  Universe  and  in  three  Belgian  papers. 

All  our  mutual  friends  have  signed  and  subscribed."    .... 

Ozanam  wrote  the  protest  on  the  I5th  April  1834.  It  stated  : 
"  The  Belgian  episcopate  have  founded  a  University,  both  Catholic 
and  free. — A  Catholic  University  :  It  should  be  a  cause  of  rejoicing 
to  the  Church,  to  see  raised  within  her  yet  another  monument  to  the 
immortal  alliance  of  Science  and  Faith,  yet  another  contradiction 
for  those  who  announce  the  early  decease  of  Christianity — A  free 
University  :  this  should  be  a  source  of  pride  for  all  friends  of  Belgian 
nationality,  proud  of  the  foundation,  in  a  land  too  long  enslaved,  of 
an  institution  free  from  all  foreign  protection,  free  from  all  state 
intervention,  worthy  of  a  people  who  are  the  true  friends  of  enlighten 
ment  and  liberty." 

Ozanam  then  went  on  to  deal  with  the  vulgar  abuse,  the  insults 
worthy  of  a  fishwife,  hurled  by  students,  alike  unworthy  of  their  time 
and  of  their  country,  sad  remnants  of  the  impious  i8th  century.  The 
student  youth  of  Paris,  standing  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  their 
Belgian  confreres,  speaking  the  same  tongue,  engaged  in  the  same 
studies,  could  not  but  be  interested  in  their  achievements.  "  We  even 
protest/'  he  continued,  "  in  the  name  of  those,  who,  while  not  pro 
fessing  our  belief,  desire  freedom  for  the  development  of  all  great 
conceptions,  of  all  noble  thoughts,  of  all  useful  undertakings." 

Ozanam  does  not  indeed  forget  that  he  and  his  friends  are  the 
students  of  a  State  University.  "  But,"  he  said,  "  we  are  first  and 
above  all  sons  of  the  Church  ;  without  ingratitude  to  our  own  alma 
mater,  we  to-day  envy  our  Belgian  brothers  the  happiness  of  receiving 
from  one  and  the  same  hand,  the  bread  of  scientific  knowledge  and  the 
bread  of  the  Sacred  Word ;  they  have  not  to  divide  their  instruction  into 
two  parts,  one  of  error  and  one  of  truth."  That  is  his  Act  of  Faith. 


LOUVAIN  55 

In  conclusion,  he  hopes  "  that  one  day  France  also  will  enjoy  a  like 
benefit."  Meanwhile,  as  a  token  of  fraternal  affection,  he  and  his 
friends  subscribe  for  some  shares  in  the  undertaking.  "The  word 
'  share  '  is  a  grand  word.  But  it  need  not  frighten  even  a  student's 
purse,  for,  as  each  '  share '  is  only  one  shilling,  there  is  not  a  single 
student  who  cannot  become  a  shareholder,  without  encroaching  too 
heavily  on  his  capital." 

To-day,  76  years  later,  the  Catholic  University  of  Louvain  numbers 
2,000  students ;  France  can  point  to  five  Catholic  Universities. 
Ozanam's  desire  has  been  granted. 

The  next  year  1835,  on  the  8th  of  March,  Lacordaire  took  possession 
of  the  pulpit  in  Notre  Dame,  for  the  greater  honour  and  glory  of  God. 
What  aid  did  Ozanam,  first  as  a  student  and  then  as  a  professor,  bring 
to  the  master's  address  ?  We  shall  answer  that  question  in  its 
proper  place. 

It  was  full  time  that  Truth  should  find  expression  through  a  worthy 
channel.  About  that  time  a  letter  of  Ozanam 's  stated  that  Lamennais 
had  just  sent  on  its  stormy  passage  the  Paroles  d'un  Croyant.  "One 
hears  nothing  but  discussion  of  this  publication,"  he  wrote  sadly. 
"  Pere  Lacordaire  criticises  it  very  severely,  and  looks  forward  to  its 
complete  repudiation  at  an  early  date.  The  intimate  friends  of  the 
great  author,  Gerbet,  de  Coux,  Montalembert,  have  broken  definitely 
with  him,  so  that  he  appears  to  be  absolutely  alone.  May  God  have 
mercy  on  him  !" 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  friend,  let  us  love  one  another.  The  great 
feasts  of  the  Church  are  approaching.  Let  us  be  found  together  in 
the  presence  of  God,  since  we  cannot  come  together  in  the  sight  of 
men.  Unable  to  exchange  conversation,  let  us  pray  for  one  another  ; 
that  will  be  still  better  !" 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE  CONFERENCE  OF  HISTORY. 
THE  OPEN  CONFERENCE. — DEFENCE  OF  THE  CHURCH  BY  SPEECH  AND  PEN. — 

La  Tribune. — La  Revue  Contemporaine. — SAINT  SIMONIANS. — 
VArm  De  La  Religion. — CHARITABLE  ACTION. — "LET  us  GO  TO 
THE  POOR." 

1833. 

The  Conference  of  History  and  of  Philosophy  which  M.  Bailly,  with 
the  co-operation  of  Ozanam,  had  founded  on  the  ruins  of  the  Societe 
des  Bonnes  Etudes  had  quadrupled  its  membership  in  one  year.  Thus 
Ozanam  was  able  to  write  on  the  I3th  March  1833  :  "  To-day  the 
Conference  numbers  sixty  young  men,  many  of  great  ability,  and  the 
large  hall  in  which  we  meet  is  filled  to  overflowing."  We  have 
already  seen  first  a  hundred,  on  a  second  occasion  two  hundred  signa 
tures  at  the  foot  of  Ozanam 's  petitions  to  Monsignor  de  Quelen.  If 
all  those  were  not  members  of  the  Conference,  they  were,  at  least, 
all  friends. 

A  little  handbook  which  was  published  towards  the  close  of  1833 
furnishes  a  long  and  varied  list  of  the  subjects  of  debate  in  the  Con 
ference  during  the  year.  In  addition  to  the  scientific  works  to  which 
we  shall  refer,  Ozanam  mentions  "  Poetry  and  its  Influence,"  "  Clerical 
and  Lay  Action,"  and  "  The  Philosophy  of  Christianity."  He  read 
his  own  verses  on  New  Year's  Day.  Lallier  read  papers  on  "Mahom- 
medanism,"  "  Moral  and  Material  Wealth,"  the  "  Economic  Theory 
of  Critical  and  Organic  Epochs."  Lamache  examined,  "Painting 
on  Glass,  Architecture  and  Statuary  in  the  Middle  Ages."  Le 
Taillandier  treated  "  The  History  of  Religious  Orders,"  "  The  Funda 
mental  Beliefs  of  Antiquity,"  "  The  Constitution  of  the  Jewish  Nation." 
Dan  ton,  the  future  Inspector-General  of  the  University,  reviewed  'The 


PAPERS  READ  AT  MEETINGS  57 

Spanish  Insurrection  under  Charles  VI."  Cheruel  handled  "The  Prin 
ciples  of  Wealth,"  "The  Present  State  of  Religion  and  Philosophy," 
a  "  Glance  into  the  Future,"  etc.  We  learn  that  "many  points  of  view 
found  expression  on  the  platform,  that  the  love  of  Truth  presided  over 
the  debates,  that  though  members  might  differ  in  opinions,  they  never 
differed  in  friendship." 

Nor  were  the  papers  always  on  pure  dilettantism .  Ozanam  frequently 
introduced  ardent  religious  propaganda,  for  the  Conference  was,  in 
his  eyes,  the  theatre  of  an  "intellectual  apostolate."  He  was  careful 
and  conscientious  in  his  preparation.  He  confides  to  one  of  his  Lyons 
friends  that  he  works  hard  at  any  paper  he  prepares.  "  I  am  writing 
a  short  history  of  the  religious  conceptions  of  antiquity  for  the  Con 
ference  ;  I  have  already  examined  those  of  China  and  India.  However 
shallow  the  research  may  be,  it  is  always  of  value  to  me,  for  it  always 
establishes  the  same  truth.  After  traversing  a  long  labyrinth  of 
allegories  and  myths,  one  discovers  at  the  end  the  key-word  of  mystery, 
which  is  the  Word  of  God." 

Each  Conference  was  summarised  by  a  Committee  who  reported 
to  a  full  meeting.  The  discussion  on  the  report  was,  among  those 
young  men,  a  veritable  battle. 

Whereas  the  Societe  des  Bonnes  Etudes  had  been  a  closed  body, 
reserved  for  a  certain  class  of  young  Catholics  of  a  particular  shade 
of  political  thought,  the  Conference  of  History  was  open  to  every  mind 
desirous  of  instruction,  to  every  shade  and  difference  of  contemporary 
thought,  all  of  which  Ozanam  counted  on  bringing  over  to  his  propaganda. 
•'  The  lists  are  open  to  every  form  of  thought,  even  to  the  doctrines 
of  St.  Simon,  and,  politics  alone  excepted,  there  is  full  and  complete 
liberty  of  debate.  Young  philosophers  come  to  demand  from  Catholic 
ity  an  account  of  its  doctrine  and  of  its  works.  Then,  impelled  by 
the  inspiration  of  the  moment,  one  of  us  faces  the  attack,  develops 
the  Christian  point  of  view  which  has  been  misunderstood,  unfolds 
the  pages  of  history  to  show  the  glory  of  the  works  of  the  Church,  and 
finding  perhaps  an  unexpected  fund  of  eloquence  in  the  grandeur  of 
the  subject,  establishes  upon  a  solid  basis  the  immortal  union  of  true 
philosophy  and  faith." 

This  '  one  of  us '  was  generally  Ozanam  himself,  as  being  incon- 
testably  the  one  who  knew  most  and  spoke  best.  He  was  ready, 
quick,  prompt  and  picturesque  in  reply.  In  his  eyes  the  enemy  was 
always  the  Saint  Simon  doctrine,  discredited,  it  is  true,  in  its  applica- 


58  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

tion,  but  attractive  in  its  philosophy.  It  was  then  orienting  towards 
Positivism  under  Augusta  Comte,  Professor  in  the  Polytechnic.  Just 
as  after  1880,  it  claimed  to  be  the  "Religion  of  Humanity,"  the  suc 
cessor  to  ancient  Christianity  which  was  now  outworn  and  defunct. 
Answering  on  one  occasion  a  speaker  who,  in  the  role  of  gravedigger, 
would  proceed  in  haste  to  inter  ancient  Christianity,  Ozanam  thus 
began  :  "  When  the  savages  in  America  are  getting  ready  to  make  a 
bloody  descent  on  their  brothers  in  the  desert,  they  never  fail,  in  order 
to  buoy  up  their  courage,  to  chant  a  war-song,  celebrating  the  victory 
that  is  to  come,  counting  in  advance  the  scalps  torn  from  their  enemies. 
Such  is,  according  to  travellers,  the  custom  of  the  Hurons  and  the 
Iroquois.  Is  it  possible  that  this  custom  has  penetrated  here?  Is 
it  not,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  to  be  found  in  the  paean  of  triumph  pre 
maturely  intoned  by  a  biassed  partisan  ?" 

This  conqueror  "  in  a  hurry  "  was  called  Broet.  "  M.  Broet  claims 
that  Catholicity  is  a  spent  force,  that  it  is  expiring  in  the  anarchy 
which  is  tearing  it  to  pieces,  in  the  lethargy  which  is  lulling  it  into  a 
sleep  of  death,  unconcerned  and  incapable  of  benefiting  humanity. 
I  beg  of  him  to  pursue  that  line  of  thought  with  me." 

The  rest  may  be  surmised.  "  The  Church,  divine  in  the  enduring 
basis  of  its  constitution  and  the  perpetual  and  universal  fruitfulness 
of  its  action,  teaching  truth,  doing  good,  radiating  beauty  through 
out  the  ages  ;  reigning  to-day  over  men's  minds,  hearts  and  morals  ; 
adored  by  her  children,  victorious  over  her  enemies,  a  conqueror  of 
two  hemispheres."  .  .  .  Having  thus  re-habilitated  the  condemned 
one,  the  young  apostle  stops  and  exclaims  :  "  It  is  enough.  What 
purpose  does  it  serve  to  shout  to  the  nations  'Catholicity  is  dead  !'  ? 
Our  ears  are  deafened  with  that  funeral  oration  for  the  last  eighteen 
hundred  years.  That  same  presumed  death  was  hurled  in  the  teeth 
of  the  Apostles.  They,  too,  heard  the  agonies  of  the  dying  referred 
to,  Quasi  Morientes.  They  answered  nothing  ;  but  they  conquered 
the  world." 

The  young  man  joined  propaganda  by  speech  with  that  of  the  pen 
in  the  Press.  The  Catholic  Press  was  then  represented  by  some  poor 
publications.  The  clergy  knew  only  "  The  Friend  of  Religion  and  of 
the  King"  —which  had  then  become  "  The  Friend  of  Religion  "  with 
out  the  King— when  M.  Bailly  in  1832  returned  to  publish  La  Tribune, 
Gazette  du  Clerge,  if  not  actually  in  opposition  to  it,  certainly  in  com 
petition  with  it.  It  claimed  "  to  raise  the  interests  of  the  Church 


SAINT-SIMONISM  59 

above  passing  political  opinions,  to  be  open  to  ideas  of  progress  through 
Christianity,  to  be  sympathetic  to  the  development  of  the  alliance  of 
Science  and  Faith,  to  repudiate  Gallicanism  as  well  as  Absolutism,  and  to 
be  definitely  opposed  to  violent  attacks  and  bitter  polemics. "  That  was 
the  declaration  of  its  policy  in  which  Frederick  Ozanam  collaborated. 

For  example,  he  wrote  in  1833,  dealing  with  a  work  on  Hebrew : — 
"  You  will  find  that  all  rational  truth  tends  to  religious  truth.  Our 
personal  task  is,  of  course,  much  less.  The  truths  of  science  are  too 
widely  separated  and  too  intricate  for  one  man  to  collect  them  as  a 
scattered  herd,  and  drive  them  before  him  into  the  fold.  We  must 
give  the  Christian  direction  to  each  one  in  turn." 

A  short  while  afterwards,  in  July  1833,  The  Tribune  received  a  still 
more  magnificent  and  touching  contribution  from  Ozanam.  Saint 
Simonism,  already  shattered  and  undermined  by  ridicule,  had  sunk 
in  immorality.  Its  leaders  were  condemned  by  law.  That  was  a  victory 
for  Ozanam,  but  he  did  not  celebrate  the  triumph.  Instead  of  tramp 
ling  on  the  fallen  enemy,  he  made  a  grand  gesture,  if  not  to  raise  him, 
at  least  to  pity  him  and  to  give  him  credit  for  noble  aspirations.  He 
appealed  to  him  to  direct  those  aspirations  henceforward  to  the  true 
Christ,  Who  alone  could  satisfy  their  hearts.  Instead  of  indulging  in  the 
prevailing  fashion  of  ridiculing  the  vanquished,  he  congratulated  them 
on  having  shaken  off  the  cloak  of  indifference  in  material  matters, 
in  order  to  lead  men  to  think  of  serious  questions  of  doctrine  ;  on 
having  dreamed  in  their  own  way  of  the  redemption  of  suffering  human 
ity  ;  on  having  done  homage  to  the  Gospel  even  while  making  it 
subtle  :  "  The  followers  of  Saint- Simon  have  wandered  from  the  true 
path,"  he  insisted  with  a  touching  confidence.  "  For  many,  that  de 
viation  from  orthodoxy  will  be  a  bending  of  th^  bow  which  will  spring 
back  again.  They  are  looking  for  Christ  unwittingly.  Some  have 
already  returned  to  Him.  His  arms  and  the  arms  of  the  Church  are 
open  to  receive  the  others." 

Must  not  one  admire  in  that  article  from  a  very  young  man  "  a 
merciful  impartiality,  a  loftiness  of  view,  a  natural  tendency  to  soar, 
forming  one  of  the  best  written  pieces  of  Ozanam,  the  student  ?  It 
is  better  than  a  master-piece  of  intellect,  it  is  a  master-piece  of  charity /' 

That  charity  of  heart  towards  those  who  differed  from  them,  whether 
they  were  humiliated  or  reconciled,  was  more  powerful  for  victory 
than  the  charm  of  eloquence  !  It  was  none  other  than  the  highest 
form  of  religious  instruction,  coupled  with  the  most  ardent  zeal  of  an 


6o  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

apostle.  These  young  men  owed  their  superiority  in  the  Conference  of 
History  to  their  superior  religious  instruction  as  well  as  to  their  religious 
zeal.  Ozanam  thus  explains  it :  "As  the  Catholics  equal  the  non- 
Catholics  in  number  and  as  they  bring  to  bear  on  the  discussion  greater 
knowledge,  ardour,  zeal,  and  assiduity,  victory  remains  always  with 
them." 

Their  unity  also  gave  them  strength.  "Easy  and  intimate  friendship 
a  kind  of  brotherhood  reigns  among  us  ;  with  the  others  graciousness 
and  courtesy.  There  are  a  round  dozen  of  us,  more  closely  united 
still  by  ties  of  mind  and  heart,  a  kind  of  literary  company  of  devoted 
and  sincere  friends,  who  open  their  souls  to  each  other  to  express  in 
turn  their  joys,  their  hopes  and  their  sorrows." 

Ozanam  drew  the  following  charming  picture  of  their  serious  and 
joyous  friendship.  "  Occasionally,  when  the  air  was  pure  and  the 
breeze  balmy,  the  police,  with  furtive  eyes,  could  see  in  the  light  of  the 
moon  reflected  from  the  majestic  dome  of  the  Pantheon,  six  or  eight 
young  men  walking  arm  in  arm  for  hours  on  that  deserted  square. 
Their  countenances  were  open,  their  gait  easy,  their  language  enthusias 
tic,  touching,  consoling.  They  spoke  of  many  things  earthly  and 
divine  ;  they  gave  expression  to  many  noble  thoughts,  many  pious 
recollections  ;  they  spoke  of  God  and  of  their  parents  ;  also  of  friends 
who  were  still  at  home,  of  their  country  and  of  mankind.  The  frivolous 
Parisian,  who  brushed  against  them  on  his  way  to  his  amusements, 
did  not  understand  their  speech  ;  it  was  a  dead  language  which  few 
here  know.  But  I,  I  understood  them,  for  I  was  of  them,  listening 
to  them.  I  felt  and  I  spoke  as  they  did,  and  my  heart  grew  strong. 
I  seemed  to  become  a  man,  and  weak  and  timid  as  I  am,  I  drew  there 
from  strength  and  energy  for  the  work  of  the  morrow." 

This  "  weak  and  timid  one"  was  nevertheless  he  who  encouraged 
them.  The  "enthusiastic,  touching,  and  consoling  language"  which 
they  exchanged  is  the  language  of  his  letters  of  the  period,  January 
and  March,  1833  :  "  We  indeed  have  need  of  something  to  occupy  us, 
to  transport  us,  to  dominate  and  elevate  our  thoughts.  We  need 
poetry  in  this  cold  and  prosaic  world.  But  philosophy  is  also  needed 
to  link  up  our  ideal  conceptions.  A  complete  doctrine  forms  the 
basis  of  our  studies,  the  motive-power  of  our  action.  Catholicism  must 
be  this  central  point  towards  which  are  to  tend  all  the  enquiries  of 
our  intelligence,  all  the  visions  of  our  imagination.  Then  mental 


LACK  OF  EXPERIENCE  61 

vagueness,  the  evil  and  depression  and  the  weakness  of  our  age, 
will  disappear." 

These  young  men  did  not  lack  enthusiasm,  but  they  were  altogether 
wanting  in  experience.  Did  the  Conference  of  History  realise  whither 
the  admission  of  every  form  of  religious  belief  would  lead  it  ?  Was 
not  its  ardent  religious  zeal  mistaken  ?  While  this  young  Catholic 
elite  submitted  its  platform  to  every  form  of  objection,  could  it  be 
sure  that  with  all  its  study,  it  was  in  possession  of  every  possible 
solution  ?  Ozanam  certainly  draws  attention  to  the  fact,  that  dis 
cussion  was  not  on  purely  theological  matters,  but  only  on  the  history, 
and  the  social  action  of  Catholicism.  But  it  is  none  the  less  true  that 
to  see  the  sacred  cause  of  religion  entrusted  for  safe-keeping  in  to  hands, 
which  were  yet  so  inexperienced  and  so  poorly  equipped,  was  not  re 
assuring  to  those  who  were  not  so  favourable  to  the  boldness  of  the 
young  men. 

One  of  those  was  the  venerable  Pere  Picot,  founder  and  editor  of 
the  journal,  The  Friend  of  Religion.  He  was  of  the  old  regime,  whom 
faithful  service  in  the  Catholic  Press  had  invested  with  almost  dicta 
torial  authority  among  the  clergy.  Biassed  by  training  against  every 
form  of  innovation,  made  distrustful,  even  obessed  by  the  excesses  of 
the  school  of  Lamennais,  he  became  alarmed  at  a  like  peril,  to  which  the 
doctrine  of  truth  was  exposed,  when  expounded  and  defended  by  those 
juvenile  apologists  freed  from  all  ecclesiastical  control  and  direction. 

It  was,  in  addition,  the  period  of  the  appearance  of  the  Paroles  d'un 
Croyant.  Outstripping  the  violence  of  that  mad  pamphlet  Professor 
Lherminier  had  just  written  "  The  Papacy  is  completely  exhausted. 
In  our  country  intellect  despises  it,  and  it  remains  silent.  But  if  I 
were  free  to  expose  the  secret  contempt  you  would  see  what  worlds  of 
contumely  are  heaped  on  that  institution." 

Ozanam  took  up  the  insulting  challenge.  Ignoring  Lherminier  and 
Lamennais,  he  explained  to  the  Conference  of  History,  in  his  broad 
and  impersonal  way,  the  secular  role  of  the  Papacy.  He  described  it 
as  distributing  to  all,  and  above  all  to  the  little  ones,  the  triple  food, 
material,  intellectual,  and  moral.  He  traced  it  back  to  the  Capitol : 
"  Outside  it  no  discoveries  worth  mentioning  have  been  made,  nor," 
concluded  he,  "  does  anyone  hope  to  surpass  her  discoveries.  Jesus 
Christ  founded  a  new  intellectual  world.  Subsequent  discoveries 
are  but  like  some  petty  isles  adjacent  to  the  great  continent  of  the 
revealed  world." 


62  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

It  happened  at  the  same  time  and  place  that  a  confrere,  young  £lie 
de  Kertanguy,  felt  himself  called  to  the  defence  of  the  Croyant  and 
repeated  some  of  its  attacks  on  the  political  tyranny  of  Popes  and 
Kings.  Now,  Kertanguy  was  Lamennais'  secretary,  and  was  to 
become  his  nephew  by  marriage.  Ozanam,  in  reply,  challenged,  as 
delicately  as  possible,  the  panegyrist  on  the  ground  of  the  double 
connection  which  put  him  altogether  out  of  court.  Kertanguy  with 
drew  his  unfortunate  expressions  and  declared  that  he  alone  was 
responsible  for  them. 

The  Friend  of  Religion  held  the  Conference  responsible  for  what 
had  been  said,  and  especially  the  member  who  was  Vice-President 
and  well-known  to  be  the  leader.  "  All  that  had  been  said  was  only  a 
rehash  of  worked-up,  old-time,  false  charges."  Then  taking  a  serious 
tone :  "  The  danger  in  present  circumstances  will  be  understood. 
One  can  appreciate  from  what  has  happened,  how  far  young  people 
can  be  misled  in  favour  of  theories  and  systems.  It  is  to  be  hoped, 
that  reflection  and  experience  will  gradually  win  them  back  from 
that  position." 

That  was  indeed  a  warning  as  well  as  a  denunciation. 

Ozanam  was  yet  unaware  of  the  cause  when  a  letter  of  abject  apology 
reached  him,  not  from  the  author  of  the  article,  but  from  one 
who  had  unwittingly  been  the  cause  of  the  denunciation,  by  making 
an  incomplete  and  biassed  account  of  Ozanam's  speech  to  the  editor 
of  The  Friend  of  Religion.  He  was  a  young  ardent  Royalist  named 
Cartier.  He  was  now  filled  with  remorse  at  the  pain  which  he  had 
caused  his  dear  Ozanam,  and  he  confessed  his  fault  and  sought  pardon 
in  a  three-page  letter.  The  incident  reflected  honour  on  Ozanam. 
His  reply  to  Cartier,  which  has  only  recently  come  to  light,  is  a  model 
of  cordiality,  generosity,  and  dignity.  The  following  is  an  extract : 

"  Sir,  I  thank  you  for  the  loyalty  which  you  have  shown,  in  drawing 
my  attention  to  the  attack  on  me  in  The  Friend  of  Religion.  Any 
imprudence  of  yours  in  the  matter  is  more  than  atoned  for  by  the 
generous  avowal  which  you  have  been  kind  enough  to  make. 

"  We  are  young,  we  are  all  likely  to  make  similar  mistakes.  But 
we  are  also  Christians  and  we  must  forgive  and  forget  an  involuntary 
mistake.  Your  action  on  my  behalf  merits  gratitude  ;  nay  more,  it 
commands  my  regard  and  wins  my  friendship". 

"  Therefore,  I  promise  that  I  shall  not  mention  this  matter  in  the 
Conference,  even  though  it  grieves  me  sorely  ;  or  if,  for  some  good 


OZANAM'S  ANSWER  63 

reason  I  find  myself  forced  to  refer  to  it,  I  promise  you  to  do  so  in  such 
a  way  that  I  shall  not  hurt  your  feelings.  It  is  quite  likely  that  we 
are  not  of  the  same  political  views.  But  we  shall  always  be  at  one  on 
the  impregnable  maxims  of  religion  and  charity.  May  the  relations, 
which  this  unpleasant  affair  has  established  between  us,  knit  firmly 
the  bonds  of  Catholic  brotherhood,  and  ensure,  for  both,  happy 
recollections !  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant  and  affectionate 
colleague." 

Thus  could  Ozanam  pardon. 

A  letter  was  enclosed  which  Cartier  was  requested  to  forward  to 
the  anonymous  ecclesiastic,  who  was  the  writer  of  the  article  :  "  There 
is  not  anything  objectionable  in  the  enclosed,  merely  an  appeal  to  his 
kindness  and  his  sense  of  justice.  I  hope  that  you  will  be  good  enough 
to  see  that  it  reaches  his  hands.  I  am  very  anxious  on  the  point." 

The  enclosed  reply  was  to  this  effect :  "You  have  done  me  the  honour 
to  discuss  me,  a  young  and  unknown  man,  in  your  last  issue;  you  analysed 
an  address  which  I  delivered  in  a  private  literary  gathering,  in  which 
prudence  and  peace  are  desired  beyond  all  else.  Since  you  set  suffi 
cient  value  on  our  friendly  discussions  to  entertain  your  good  readers 
with  them,  you  should  at  least  observe  a  scrupulous  accuracy.  Yet 
the  summary,  which  you  have  made,  truncates  my  thought  and 
ascribes  odious  and  ridiculous  expressions  to  me.  It  contains  also 
severe  condemnation  of  my  views,  and  attributes  to  me  intentions 
which  I  altogether  disavow." 

Ozanam  had  been  charged  with  attacking  monarchy. 

"  As  a  student,  I  am  studying  history  according  to  my  lights.  I 
do  not  know  if  I  am  right,  but  I  do  not  make  false  charges.  I  am 
represented  as  belonging  to  a  school  of  thought  which  is  hostile  to 
Kings.  Being  a  Christian,  I  glory  in  belonging  to  no  other  school 
than  that  of  Truth,  which  is  the  Church.  But  if  my  sympathy  in 
clines  in  any  direction  it  is  in  favour  of  a  wise  Monarchy."  Ozanam 
was  grieved  to  see  such  censure  visited  by  a  man  of  venerable  age  on 
some  young  men,  who,  though  few  in  number,  had  found  the  requisite 
courage  in  their  faith  for  a  lofty  defence  of  their  holy  Mother  the 
Church.  "  But  it  is  not  a  declaration  of  political  principles  which 
I  desire  to  make  here.  The  day  will  come  perhaps  when  I  shall 
be  entitled  to  hold  these  opinions.  Meantime  I  live  by  my  faith, 
which  I  have  from  my  God,  and  by  my  honour  which  I  have  from  my 
parents.  You  will  allow  me  to  defend  the  one  and  the  other." 


64  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Pere  Picot  did  not  refuse  to  insert  Ozanam's  rather  lively  reply ; 
its  feeling  and  sincerity  touched,  but  did  not  convince  him.* 

However,  the  sensitive  conscience  of  the  young  man  had  not  waited 
for  those  warnings  of  June,  1834.  Certain  occurrences  had  already 
startled  his  sense  of  responsibility.  It  had  happened  that  in  the 
course  of  discussions  which  had  arisen  unexpectedly,  the  champions 
of  Christianity,  taken  unawares,  had  been  found  unequal  to  their 
task.  They  came  together  at  Lamache's,  to  settle  on  the  steps  to 
be  taken  to  avoid  similar  surprises.  They  did  not  succeed. 

Lallier,  one  of  the  three  delegates,  was  one  day  condoling  with  the 
elder  of  the  little  band,  Le  Taillandier,  a  Rouen  man,  a  student  in  the 
second  year  of  law,  who  was  of  a  cold  and  practical  turn  of  mind.  The 
latter  concluded  quietly  as  follows  :  "  I  should  much  prefer  some  other 
kind  of  meeting,  one  altogether  composed  of  young  Christians  who, 
instead  of  controversy  and  debate,  should  devote  themselves  to  the 
practice  of  good  works."  But  would  not  that  be  to  surrender  ?  He 
found  no  reply  to  that  objection  on  this  occasion. 

Other  signs  were  not  wanting.  Ozanam  thus  refers  to  them  : 
"  When  we  Catholics,  in  our  relations  with  unbelievers,  deists, 
followers  of  Saint  Simon,  Fourierists,  artificers  in  the  re-moulding 
of  society,  when  we  sought  to  direct  their  attention  to  the  benefits 
conferred  by  Christianity,  we  were  met  with  the  invariable  answer, 
"  You  are  right  when  you  speak  of  the  past,  in  former  times 
Christianity  worked  wonders  ;  but  what  is  it  doing  for  humanity 
to-day  ?  Even  you,  who  pride  yourself  on  your  Catholicity,  what 
are  you  doing  to  show  the  vitality  and  efficacy,  to  prove  the  truth  of 
your  faith  ?"  Ozanam  was  much  affected  by  that  challenge. 

An  event  happened  just  at  this  time  that  emphasized  the  urgency 
of  the  question  of  which  Lamache  gives  the  following  account  :  "  One 
of  the  Conferences  of  History,  in  these  same  early  months  of  1833,  was 
more  stormy  than  usual.  Ozanam  had  to  face  unjust  and  bitter 
attacks.  He  left  the  meeting  very  sad.  It  was  the  outrage  offered 
to  God  and  to  the  Church  that  saddened  him.  "  How  sad  it  is," 
said  he  to  us,  "  to  see  our  holy  mother  the  Church  attacked  so  violently  f 
and  Catholicity  travestied  and  maligned  !" 

*I  have  great  pleasure  in  referring  the  reader  on  this  whole  matter  to  the  four 
articles  of  M.  Georges  Goyau  in  the  Revue  pratique  d'Apologttique,  Vol.  xiv, 
which  are  entitled  Intellectual  Apostohte  of  young  Ozanam.  In  those  articles  the 
popular  Catholic  writer  has  made  the  whole  scene  live  again,  the  mind,  the  action, 
the  faith  and  the  great  heart  of  the  man,  to  whom  he  is  related  on  all  sides. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  IDEA  65 

He  did  not  advise  the  abandonment  of  the  defence  of  religion. 
"  Let  us,"  said  he,  "  continue  to  stand  in  the  breach  and  face  the  attack. 
But  do  you  not  feel,  as  I  do,  the  need  of  some  other  little  society, 
outside  of  this  militant  Conference,  which  would  be  composed  of 
religious  friends,  who  would  work  as  well  as  talk,  and  who  would  thus, 
by  showing  the  vitality  of  their  faith,  affirm  its  truth." 

"  Looking  back  over  half  a  century,"  continues  Lamache,  "  that 
little  scene  is  still  fresh  in  my  memory.  I  still  see  Ozanam's  eyes 
filled  with  sadness,  but  also  with  ardour  and  with  fire.  I  still  hear 
that  voice  which  betrayed  the  deep  emotion  of  his  soul.  When  the 
little  group  broke  up,  each  member  carried  away  in  his  heart  the  fiery 
arrow  which  Our  Lord  Jesus  had  sent  forth  in  the  speech  of  our  young 
comrade."  So  far  Ozanam  had  only  outlined  Christian  action  hi  a 
general  way  ;  but  what  particular  kind  of  action  ?  On  a  subsequent 
day,  when  they  had  come  together  in  somewhat  larger  numbers  in 
the  more  commodious  rooms  of  M.  Serre  in  the  Petite  rue  des  Gres, 
the  matter  was  advanced  a  step  further.  Ozanam  insisted  that 
the  Conference  of  History  should  carry  on,  but  admitted  at  the  same 
time  that  it  was  a  source  of  mortification.  He  opened  his  heart  to 
them  as  follows :  "  After  a  year's  working  and  struggling,"  he  asked,  "has 
any  good  come  of  this  Conference,  to  which  I  have  sacrificed  my  legal 
studies  and  by  which  I  have  earned  for  myself  the  just  reproaches 
of  my  family.  In  return  for  such  trials  and  sacrifices  have  we  made 
one  single  conquest  for  Jesus  Christ  ?" 

Then  with  humility,  but  with  determination,  he  added  :  "  If  our 
efforts  have  not  succeeded,  is  it  not  because  something  is  lacking  to 
the  supernatural  efficacy  of  our  speech  ?"  He  thought  so,  adding: 
"  Yes,  one  thing  is  wanting  that  our  apostolate  may  be  blessed  by 
God — works  of  charity.  The  blessing  of  the  poor  is  the  blessing  of 
God." 

The  Abbe  Ozanam,  the  clearest  of  Frederick's  biographers,  adds 
the  following  note  to  Lamache's  account  of  the  first  beginnings  of  the 
Conference  of  Charity  :  "  On  leaving  there,  Frederick  found  himself 
with  Le  Taillandier,  who  was  not  less  deeply  affected.  "  Well,  to  be 
practical,  what  are  we  going  to  do  to  translate  our  faith  into  deeds  ?" 
they  asked  one  another.  The  answer  came  from  the  same  Christian 
heart :  "  We  must  do  what  is  most  agreeable  to  God.  Therefore,  we 
must  do  what  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  did  when  preaching  the  Gospel. 
Let  us  go  to  the  poor." 


66  FREDERICK   OZANAM 

They  both  acted,  and  acted  at  once.  That  very  evening  Ozanam 
and  Le  Taillandier  carried  to  a  poor  family  of  their  acquaintance  the 
remaining  supply  of  wood  which  they  had  for  the  last  months  of 
winter. 

Four  years  later,  Ozanam,  in  a  letter  to  Le  Taillandier,  dated  the 
2 ist  August,  1837,  recalling  those  times,  added  this  detail :  "  Will  you 
not  found  a  Conference  at  Le  Mans  ?  Will  you  not  give  us  brothers, 
you,  who  were  one  of  our  fathers  :  you  who  were,  well  I  remember,  the 
first  author  of  our  Society  \ "  It  is  also  true  that  in  another  letter 
Ozanam  gives  the  same  title  of  first  founder  to  M.  Bailly,  its  first 
president.  In  the  modest  opinion  of  this  young  man,  every  one  but 
himself  would  have  been  the  founder. 

Electrified  by  his  suggestion,  those  present  entrusted  him  with  the 
task  of  forthwith  communicating  their  charitable  plan  to  M.  Bailly, 
and  requesting  him  to  become  its  president.  They  could  not  have 
applied  to  anyone  better  inclined  or  better  qualified. 


67 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CONFERENCE  OF  CHARITY. 
THE  SOCIETY  OF  ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL. 

M.     BAILLY,    PRESIDENT. — OZANAM,    FOUNDER. — THE   BEGINNING. — SISTER 

ROSALIE. — OZANAM  AMONG   HIS   POOR. — THE  FEAST   OF   CORPUS 

CHRISTI   AT  NANTERRE. — AMPERE  AND   OZANAM. — 

GUSTAVE  DE   LA   NOUE. 


M.  Bailly  had  drunk  in  sentiments  of  charity  in  his  own  home. 
Devotion  to  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  was  a  family  tradition.  His  father 
died  at  Brias,  near  Bethune,  in  Artois,  and  possessed  at  the  time  of  his 
death  a  large  collection  of  manuscripts  belonging  to  the  Saint,  which 
were  guarded  like  a  treasure  in  the  home.  The  name  of  him  who  was 
called  by  his  parents  the  family  Saint  was  never  pronounced  save  with 
devotion.  His  brother,  the  Abbe  Bailly,  joined  the  Vincentian  Order. 
He,  himself,  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  great  apostle,  entered 
the  service  of  charity  in  the  world.  About  the  year  1830,  M.  Bailly 
had  become  the  right  hand  man  of  the  Abbe  Borderies  in  the  manage 
ment  of  the  "  Society  of  Good  Works,"  and  also  of  the  Abbe  Des- 
genettes,  who  was  at  that  time  parish  priest  of  the  Church  of  the 
Missions.  Madame  Bailly  shared  her  husband's  devotion  to  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  person  of  the  poor.  At  the  request  of  Sister 
Rosalie,  she  had  undertaken  with  a  friend  to  visit  some  poor  in  their 
homes.  Discouraged  by  the  reception  she  met  with  in  that  work  she 


68  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

agreed  with  her  husband  that  "  it  was  not  women's  work.  Men, 
and  young  men,  were  wanted  for  it."4 

It  was  while  under  the  influence  of  that  expression  of  opinion, 
that  M.  Bailly  received  the  communication  of  Ozanam  and  his  friends. 
It  recommended  itself  strongly  to  him.  "The  project  of  a  small  private 
association,  altogether  devoted  to  works  of  charity  met  with  his  cordial 
approval,"  reports  Lallier.  As  to  what  works  should  be  adopted,  he 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  parish  priest  of  their  Parish,  St. 
£tienne  du  Mont,  should  be  first  consulted.  The  parish  priest  was 
the  Abbe  Ollivier,  later  Bishop  of  fivreux.  Not  having  had  any 
previous  knowledge  of  their  project  he  contented  himself  for  the 
moment  with  advising  the  brave  young  volunteers  to  teach  Catechism 
to  the  children  of  the  poor. 

But  their  zeal  was  altogether  directed  towards  the  visitation  of  the 
poor.  M.  Bailly  was  of  the  opinion  that,  if  carried  out  with  prudence, 
it  would  have  on  themselves,  even  more  than  on  those  whom  they  would 
visit,  the  most  salutary  influence.  Four  members  were  already 
certain.  Ozanam  pointed  out  two  more  who  were  members  of  the 

*  Ozanam,  completely  effacing  himself,  gives  expression  to  the  following 
charming  sentiments  of  humility  and  gratitude  when  speaking  of  M.  Bailly's 
services,  in  the  Circular- Letter  of  llth  June,  1844,  which  he,  as  Vice- President, 
issued  to  Conferences  on  the  resignation  of  the  venerable  President-General  : 

"  It  was  M.  Bailly  who  had  in  1833  the  inspiration  to  call  together  a  few 
young  men  for  a  charitable  purpose  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 
It  was  a  time  when  many  good  men,  still  timid,  stood  aside  from  Associations 
of  good  works.  Those  few  young  men  little  expected  the  marvellous  multipli 
cation  which  is  to  be  seen  to-day.  It  was  he  who  gave  them  a  place  of  meeting, 
counsel,  and  example  ;  who  taught  them  how  to  meet  for  mutual  edification  and 
support  ;  how  to  recruit  new  members,  how  to  help  the  poor,  etc.  When  our 
members  increased  and  it  became  necessary  to  reduce  into  form  our  simple 
practices,  it  was  M.  Bailly  who  wrote  the  preliminary  drafts,  instinct  with  the 
maxims  of  our  holy  Patron,  and  which  definitely  fixed  the  spirit  of  the  Society. 
In  developing  those  first  considerations  in  the  course  of  several  addresses,  and 
throughout  all  the  activities  of  a  crowded  eleven  years'  presidency,  he  maintained 
the  unity  of  the  Society  during  the  growth  of  Conferences  in  Paris,  in  the  Pro 
vinces,  and  in  foreign  countries.  Our  gratitude  and  our  regard  are  unlimited  : 
if  we  do  not  give  expression  to  our  sentiments  here,  we  refrain  from  doing  so  be 
cause  we  desire  to  remain  faithful  to  the  tradition  of  humility  which  he  estab 
lished.  Let  us  leave  to  his  good  works,  their  obscurity,  and  to  God,  the  reward 
ing  of  a  life  which  was  all  spent  for  the  good  of  Christian  young  men  and  in  the 
service  of  the  poor  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Speaking  of  the  objections  urged  against  M.  Bailly's  decision  to  resign,  he  added: 
"  It  was  put  to  him  that  should  he  cease  to  be  President  of  the  Society  he  could 
never  cease  to  be  its  founder." 

Thus  Ozanam's  excessive  modesty,  effacing  himself,  awards  to  M.  Bailly  here 
and  elsewhere,  the  title  of  founder.  Those  who  were  associated  with  Ozanam  in 
the  foundation  were  not  mistaken.  We  shall  see  how  very  soon  they  protested 
unanimously  and  solemnly  to  restore  fully  to  him  the  honour  of  a  distinction 
which  was  his. 


THE  FIRST  MEMBERS  69 

Conference  of  History  :  Felix  Clave  and  Jules  Devaux.  The  former 
was  a  son  of  the  head  of  an  institution  in  the  Roule  suburbs,  in  Paris, 
a  recent  convert  from  Simonism,  the  latter  a  medical  student  from 
Normandy.  They  both  "  gladly  accepted."  That  was  the  corps 
d'elite  :  the  rest  of  the  band  of  young  Christians  stood  silent  and 
expectant.  The  number  of  members  did  not  exceed  eight.*  These, 
of  whom  one  alone  Lamache  was  over  20  years  of  age,  were  :  Frederick 
Ozanam,  Auguste  Le  Taillandier,  Paul  Lamache,  Felix  Clave,  Fran£ois 
Lallier,  Jules  Devaux.  M.  Bailly  was  at  the  head.  There  was  one 
other  whose  name  is  not  recorded. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  "  None  of  the  seven  or  eight*  original 
members  of  the  Society  belonged  socially  to  the  aristocracy,  nor  even 
to  the  wealthy  middle  class,  whom  the  July  Revolution  had  brought 
into  power.  Their  families  passed  a  simple  and  honourable  existence 
in  the  liberal  professions.  Their  personality  is  almost  unknown. 
Lamache,  an  excellent  Professor  of  a  Faculty  in  the  Provinces  :  Lallier 
the  presiding  Justice  of  the  Court  in  the  town  of  Sens :  Le  Taillandier, 
a  good  and  simple  man,  divided  between  associations  of  good  works 
and  his  business  interests  in  Rouen  :  Devaux,  a  Catholic  country 
doctor  ;  Clave  still  more  obscure.  Ozanam  alone  stands  out  by  his 
ability,  his  activities  and  his  place  in  the  intellectual  world.  Does  he 
not  equally  surpass  them  in  humility  ?" 

Sixty  years  later,  Lamache,  then  over  eighty,  was  asked  as  to  the 
part  played  by  each  at  the  beginning  and  replied  as  follows  in  the 
journal  Le  Monde  on  the  4th  August,  1892  : 

"  To  tell  the  truth,  not  one  of  us,  not  even  Ozanam,  who  had  certainly 
the  greatest  initiative  and  most  ardent  zeal,  could  be  described  as  the 
founder  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  We  were  influenced 
solely  by  the  desire  of  finding  for  ourselves,  for  we  were  so  weak, 
mutual  support  in  the  practice  of  doing  good.  After  having  fought 
with  pen  and  speech  in  the  Conference  of  History  for  the  defence 
of  religion,  we  felt  the  need  of  the  support,  strength  and  con 
solation  which  is  to  be  found  in  devoting  ourselves  to  some  little  works 
for  the  sake  of  the  love  of  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  It  is 
then  God  and  God  alone  Who  has  done  all.  That  is  exactly  why  we 
have  every  reason  to  hope  that  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
will  live." 

*The  number  was  actually  seven.     See  Appendix. 


7o  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

All  this  is  indeed  true.  But  it  is  equally  true  that  Ozanam  was  the 
principal  instrument  whom  the  Almighty  had  chosen  for  this  work. 

The  same  Lamache  wrote  to  the  Abbe  Ozanam  on  the  ist  July,  1888  : 
"  I  solemnly  declare  on  my  word  of  honour  that  it  was  Ozanam  who 
first  spoke  to  me  of  that  Conference  :  that  he  was  its  soul  as  he  had  been 
that  of  the  Conference  of  Literature,  and  that,  without  Ozanam,  the 
Conference  of  Charity  would  never  have  come  into  being." 

Less  than  three  years  after  Ozanam 's  death,  fourteen  surviving 
members  of  the  first  Conference  wished  to  testify  to  that  fact  by  confer 
ring  on  him,  Ad  perpetuam  rei  memoriam,  the  title  of  Founder  in  a  written 
document  to  which  all  would  affix  their  signatures.  Two  of  his  oldest 
Lyons  friends,  therefore,  Paul  Brae  de  la  Perriere  and  Chaurand, 
instituted  a  searching  enquiry  into  the  part  played  by  Ozanam  in  the 
foundation.  They  took  evidence  and  made  their  report  in  the  follow 
ing  joint  Declaration,  which  appeared  in  the  Lyons  Gazette  on  the  25th 
March,  1856  :— • 

"  Unwilling  that  the  absolute  accuracy  of  facts  should  be  obscured,  of  which 
we  had  special  means  of  personal  knowledge,  and  of  which  we  had  special  op 
portunities  of  hearing  from  the  lips  of  the  founders  themselves,  we  testify  as 
follows  : 

"  If  it  is  true  that  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  has  been  jointly  founded 
by  many,  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  Frederick  Ozanam  had  a  preponderating 
and  decisive  part  in  that  foundation.  It  was  he  who  shared  with  M.  Le  Tail- 
landier  the  idea  of  an  Association,  whose  members  would  join  the  practice  of 
charitable  works  to  faith  :  it  was  he  who  carried  by  his  initiative  the  majority 
of  the  members  to  adopt  that  act  of  devotedness  to  the  poor,  none  of  the  others 
having  belonged  to  any  of  the  previously  existing  charitable  Associations." 

"  Signed  on  the  20th  March  by  Messieurs  F.  Alday  J.  Arthaud,  C.  Bietrix,  A. 
Bouchacourt,  Chaurand,  J.  Freney,  J.  Janmot,  A.  Lacour,  L.  Lacuna,  P.  de  la 
Perriere,  E.  Rieussec,  all  members  of  the  first  Conference  in  Paris  in  the  Parish 
of  St.  Etienne-du-Mont. 

Added  on  the  20th  and  21st  March,  Messieurs  Aim6  Bouvier  in  Bourg,  and 
Henri  Pessonneaux  in  Paris. 

M.  Devaux  of  Triviere  (Calvados)  states  :  "  I  had  the  honour  to  be  one  of  the 
seven  or  eight  first  members  who  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Association.  It 
was  Professor  Ozanam  who  procured  that  great  happiness  for  me.  The  honour 
of  that  foundation  is  his  for  ever."  (Abbe  Ozanam,  Life  of  Frederick  Ozanam, 
ch.  iv.,  p.  156.  Cf.  M.  de  Lanzac  de  Laborie,  The  Founder  in  the  Revue 
d'apolog6tique,  vol.  xiv.  p.  730. 

Much  corroborative  evidence  is  forthcoming  from  the  correspondence 
of  contemporaries  and  fellow-workers.  Lallier  exclaims  :  "  Ozanam, 
to  whom  I  owe,  after  God,  almost  any  merit  I  possess  !"  Curnier 
wrote  to  Ozanam  in  1840  :  "It  is  out  of  the  inspiration  of  your 
heart,  that  the  holy  association  sprang,  which  may  be  destined  to  spread 


THE  FIRST  MEETING  71 

over  the  whole  of  France  as  a  net-work  of  charity."  Paul  de  la 
Perriere  wrote  :  "  Our  dear  Ozanam,  through  his  excessive  humility, 
has  contributed  his  share  to  mis-stating  the  history  of  our  foundation. 
God  will  take  full  account  of  that  unselfishness  ;  but  He  will  certainly 
scold  him  for  having  spoken  and  written  the  very  reverse  of  the  truth." 
Can  we  not  adopt  the  rather  solemn  conclusion  of  Pere  Lacordaire, 
who  was  also  a  witness  :  "  Ozanam  was  the  St.  Peter  of  that  little 
guest-chamber."  ? 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Conference  of  Charity  took  place  in  the 
month  of  May,  1833,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  verified  date 
of  the  foundation  of  the  Society.  The  first  and  subsequent  meetings 
were  held  at  M.  Bailly's  rooms  in  the  offices  of  the  Tribune  Catholique, 
18  Rue  de  Petit-Bourbon-Saint- Sulpice. 

On  taking  the  chair,  the  venerable  President  took  good  care  to  tell 
them,  "  If  you  really  wish  to  serve  the  poor  and  yourselves,  direct  your 
charity  to  moral  and  spiritual,  rather  than  material,  improvement. 
You  will  thus  sanctify  yourselves  in  the  contemplation  of  Jesus  Christ 
suffering  in  the  person  of  the  poor."  It  was  to  His  Divine  service  in 
His  person  that  they  bound  themselves  in  this  Society. 

Their  dispositions  were  admirably  generous  and  disinterested.  A 
regulation  of  the  late  Societe  des  Bonnes  fitudes  bound  its  members 
to  aid  one  another  in  their  worldly  careers.  The  young  Conference 
of  Charity  laid  down  a  rule  in  contradistinction  to  that,  to  the  effect 
that  no  one  was  to  use  the  Society  for  the  advancement  of  any  personal 
interest  whatever.  Self-oblivion  was  to  correspond  to  complete  self- 
abandonment. 

Their  only  charitable  resources  were  a  bag  collection  made  at  the 
meeting.  One  day  they  found,  to  their  great  surprise,  some  large 
pieces  of  silver  in  the  bag.  It  was  M.  Bailly,  who  found  this  means 
of  rewarding  the  free  contributions  of  several  members  to  the  Tribune 
Catholique,  Gazette  du  Clerge,  which  was  his  paper.  It  was,  therefore, 
with  the  produce  of  their  toil  that  they  fed  the  poor. 

Prayers  were  added,  for  the  poor,  for  benefactors,  for  Brothers  ;  all 
were  placed  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  His  name 
was  invoked  at  the  meetings  even  before  the  Society  was  officially 
called  after  him. 

It  was  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  that  the 
Conference  had  recourse  in  order  to  get  into  touch  with  the  poor. 
The  treasurer  of  the  Conference,  Jules  Devaux,  was  deputed  to 


72  FREDERICK    OZANAM 

wait  on  the  renowned  Sister  Rosalie,  who  was  so  popular  in  the  XII 
Ward  and  whose  abounding  charity  was  known  throughout  Paris. 
Glad  to  be  able  to  associate  in  her  charitable  ministry  such  men  of  good 
will  as  came  to  consult  her,  she  welcomed  Devaux  with  the  kindness 
of  a  mother,  encouraged  the  Society  of  the  young  apostles,  gave  them 
invaluable  advice,  drew  up  for  them  a  list  of  poor  families  to  visit, 
furnished  them  with  bread  and  meat  tickets,  until  such  time  as  the 
Conference  would  be  able  to  issue  its  own. 

Each  Brother  had  a  family  to  look  after.  That  which  fell  to  Ozanam  's 
lot  appeared  to  stand  in  moral  rather  than  material  need.  The 
household  consisted  of  a  mother  who  worked  herself  to  the  bone 
to  procure  a  living  for  five  children,  and  a  drunken  husband  who  took 
all  that  she  earned,  to  the  last  farthing,  to  spend  in  drink.  "  Whenever 
he  comes  in  from  the  public  house  he  beats  us  all,  but  that  does  not 
happen  every  day,"  the  unhappy  poor  woman  reported  conscien 
tiously.  She  had  reached  the  last  stages  of  distress  and  despair  when 
Ozanam  found  her.  He  was  not  long  in  discovering  that  there  had 
not  been  any  form  of  marriage,  and  that  the  unhappy  woman  was  free 
to  shake  off  the  ignoble  and  hateful  burden.  She  could  scarce  believe 
it.  "  It  is  too  good  to  be  true,"  she  said.  Ozanam  had  it  proved 
officially,  freed  the  woman,  and  by  means  of  a  private  collection, 
procured  for  her  the  means  of  returning  to  Brittany  with  her  two 
youngest  children  ;  the  two  eldest  he  placed  in  M.  Bailly's  workrooms. 
That  was  truly  the  dual  aid,  moral  and  material,  which  the  charitable 
president  had  recommended.  In  the  very  first  case  the  idea  of  the 
future  work  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  was  established. 

Charity  infused  into  the  hearts  of  these  young  Christians  a  pious 
zeal.  One  month  after  his  quiet  inauguration,  the  Conference 
enrolled  some  thirty  students  for  a  religious  feast  in  the  country. 
They  were  invited  by  Ozanam  to  be  at  Nanterre  for  the  feast 
of  Corpus  Christi,  to  provide  an  escort  for  Our  Lord  in  the  pro 
cession  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament.  He  thus  describes  it  to  his 
mother  on  the  igth  June,  1833. 

The  pious  manifestation  was  at  the  same  time  a  challenge  :  "  You 
know,  my  dear  mother,  that  in  Paris,  as  in  Lyons,  religious  processions 
are  forbidden.  But  because  it  pleases  some  disturbers  of  the  peace 
to  confine  Catholicity  to  its  temples  in  the  large  cities,  that  does  not 
appear  to  virile  young  Christians  to  be  a  good  and  sufficient  reason  why 
they  should  be  deprived  of  a  most  impressive  religious  ceremony. 


THE  PROCESSION  AT  NANTERRE  73 

Therefore,  some  were  to  be  found  who  did  think  of  taking  part  in 
the  procession  at  Nanterre."  Nanterre,  a  quiet  village,  the  home  of 
St.  Genevieve,  patroness  of  Paris  !  Was  she  not  in  a  very  special  way 
the  patroness  of  those  young  parishioners  and  citizens  of  the  glorious 
Mount  St.  Genevieve  ? 

All  the  letter  is  delightful,  poetic  in  its  colouring,  animated  in  its 
tone,  pulsating  with  friendship,  deeply  imbued  with  piety,  and 
addressed  to  a  mother.  It  describes  their  departure  on  a  fine  Sunday 
morning  in  June  'neath  a  cloudless  sky  ;  the  arrival  at  the  rendez-vous 
Barriere  de  1'fitoile.  They  number  thirty  !  The  intellectual  aristoc 
racy  of  the  Conference  is  there :  Lallier ;  Lamache ;  Cherruel,  a 
converted  follower  of  Saint  Simon  ;  de  La  Noue,  a  graceful  poet ;  Le 
Jouteux  ;  men  of  Languedoc,  of  the  Francs-Comtois,  of  Normandy, 
above  all  of  Lyons,  mostly  wearing  moustaches  and  some  five  feet 
eight  inches  in  height.  "  The  procession  is  passing  ;  the  students 
mingle  with  the  peasants,  join  in  the  chorus,  astonish  them  by  our 
turn  out,  edify  them  with  our  piety."  In  the  village  "  the  houses 
are  decorated,  the  paths  strewn  with  flowers,  the  altars  on  the  way 
perfumed."  Then  the  High  Mass,  into  which  the  crowd  surges  and 
extends  into  the  street.  From  Nanterre,  twenty-two  of  the  boldest 
set  out  at  great  speed  for  St.  Germain-en-Laye,  but  not  without 
gathering  some  strawberries  in  the  woods.  There  they  spend  "  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  in  the  Church  singing  Vespers,"  followed  by  a  visit 
to  the  Chateau,  enjoying  the  panorama  of  its  immense  terrace  ; 
dinner  at  a  restaurant  at  two  shillings  a  head,  etc.  "We  set  out 
again  in  groups  in  the  cool  of  the  evening.  The  moon  shed  her 
silver  beams  through  the  trees ;  it  was  a  moment  charged  with  delight. 
We  walked,  filled  with  happiness  at  the  thought  of  having  rendered 
the  homage  to  God  which  is  His  due  ....  Night  descended  and  we 
parted.  We  were  lost  to  one  another  in  the  darkness.  When  I  reached 
my  rooms  with  two  of  my  friends,  Monday  had  just  dawned.  I  know 
in  my  heart,  dear  mother,  how  often  I  thought  of  you  all  during  that 
day,  one  of  the  most  delightful  in  my  life." 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  it  was  also  in  June,  1833,  that  Ozanam 
and  his  friends  had  presented  to  Monsignor  de  Quelen  their  first  peti 
tion  for  the  establishment  of  Conferences  in  Notre  Dame.  Piety, 
Charity,  Truth,  those  three  consuming  fires  radiated  their  light,  heat, 
and  electricity  from  the  heart  of  that  choice  young  spirit  of  twenty 
years  of  age. 


74  FREDERICK    OZANAM 

Ozanam's  dwelling,  that  to  which  he  returned  from  his  pilgrimage 
to  Nanterre,  was  then  at  No.  7  Rue  des  Ores,  on  the  sixth  storey,  on  a 
level  with  the  dome  of  the  Pantheon  and  "  next  to  the  stars,"  as  he 
himself  says.  He  had  had  to  give  up  his  room  in  Ampere's,  for  M. 
Jean  Jacques  Ampere  had  returned  home  ;  but  that  in  no  wise  affected 
the  bonds  of  filial  veneration  which  united  him  to  the  great  man. 
The  latter  could  no  longer  get  on  without  the  young  man,  as  the 
following  note,  dated  5th  May  (year  not  given)  states  :  "  My  dear  and 
excellent  friend,  you  well  know  that  I  have  but  a  week  longer  to  spend 
in  Paris,  and  that  the  translation  of  the  Latin  verses,  explanatory  of  my 
tableau  for  the  classification  of  sciences,  calls  for  more  than  one  sitting. 
By  all  your  friendship  for  me,  there  is  not  one  moment  to  lose  ;  you 
would  not  wish  to  deprive  me  of  that  to  which  I  attach  the  greatest 
possible  importance.  I  shall  be  more  grateful  to  you  than  I  can  say, 
and  I  thank  you  a  thousand  times  in  anticipation. — Ever  most  sincerely 
yours,  my  dear  and  excellent  friend." 

The  eight  members  of  the  Conference  of  Charity,  jealous  of  their 
new  found  treasure  of  friendship,  had  so  little  prescience,  or  desire,  of 
future  development,  that  they  kept  the  door  of  their  guest-chamber 
firmly  closed.  It  was  kept  closed  at  first  even  to  Gustave  de  La  Noue, 
a  future  poet,  son  of  a  magistrate  in  Tours,  whom  Ozanam  described  as 
"  one  of  those  chosen  spirits  to  whom  God  has  given  angel's  wings." 
His  name  was  submitted  and  supported  by  Lallier  ;  but  would  not  his 
admission  destroy  the  atmosphere  of  intimacy  and  simplicity  of  the 
little  family  ?  Ozanam  definitely  declared,  not  alone  in  favour  of 
this  nomination,  but  in  favour  of  the  general  principle  of  the  extension 
of  the  Society  as  far  as  it  would  please  God  to  send  recruits.  The 
door  which  was  opened  to  de  La  Noue  was  never  again  closed.  At 
the  close  of  1833,  the  Association  counted  20  to  25  members. 

Ozanam  introduced  his  cousin  Pessonneaux  and  his  countryman 
Chaurand.  The  most  important  of  the  new  recruits  was  certainly 
Leon  Le  Prevost,  the  future  founder  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Brothers 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  He  did  not  come  from  the  schools,  and  he 
was  the  only  one  who  did  not.  He  was  a  man  in  the  forties,  of  literary 
tastes,  who  had  been  a  member  of  Societies  of  Romantic  Literature. 
A  conversation  with  M.  Bailly  informed  him  of  the  foundation  and 
existence  of  the  Conference  of  young  men.  It  awakened  hope  in  his 
heart  and  he  wrote  to  his  friend,  Victor  Pavie,  as  follows  on  the  2oth 
August,  1833  :  "  There  is  in  existence  here  at  the  moment  a  great 


THE  VIRTUE  OF  YOUNG  HEARTS  75 

movement  for  charity  and  faith.  But  all  that  is  veiled  from  the 
surrounding  world  by  its  own  indifference.  I  am  much  mistaken  if  a 
light  for  the  world  does  not  stream  forth  from  these  modern  cata 
combs."  The  Lord  was  preparing  for  the  future  in  M.  Le  Prevost, 
one  of  the  most  fruitful  grafts  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 

As  M.  le  Prevost  had  said,  the  world  was  completely  indifferent  to 
the  Catholic  movement  which,  at  least,  shook  the  resolution  of  those 
whom  it  did  not  carry  with  it.  The  fact  is  that  Ozanam's  social 
action  had,  even  in  a  short  time  reached  the  mentality  and  altered 
the  moral  tone  of  the  youth  of  the  old  Latin  Quarter.  A  contemporary 
witness,  and  one  who  is  not  suspect,  is  forthcoming  in  the  person  of 
Sainte-Beuve  himself.  After  having  bid  adieu  to  the  Rationalism 
of  the  Globe,  then  to  Saint  Simonism,  the  Sainte-Beuve  of  1833  and 
1834  had  his  ardent  sympathy  attracted  to  the  Catholic  religion, 
which,  however,  may  have  been  literary  rather  than  moral.  He 
noted,  in  two  very  remarkable  articles,  the  religious  awakening  which 
he  witnessed  and  in  which  he  was  regarded  by  some  enthusiasts  as  a 
co-operator.  "It  is  indeed  a  memorable  spectacle,"  he  wrote,  "  to 
see  amid  so  much  unbelief  and  such  general  defection  that  the 
chosen  band  of  those  virtuous  minds  does  not  decrease,  that  it  recruits 
and  perpetuates  itself,  preserving  the  moral  treasure  in  all  its  purity. 
Whatever  may  be  the  form  under  which  the  Christian  religious  spirit  is 
to  be  reconstituted  (as  we  hope  it  may  be)  in  society,  this  progressive 
virtue  of  young  hearts,  this  faith  and  modesty  held  in  reserve  and  in 
seclusion,  will  push  forward  powerfully  the  time  of  its  development."* 
Without  naming  Ozanam,  Sainte-Beuve  could  not  indicate  more 
clearly  the  impress  which  Frederick  had  made  on  the  young  men  in 
Paris  by  devoting  himself  entirely  to  their  service. 

The  young  band  continued  its  charitable  action.  It  renewed  its 
offer  to  visit  the  poor  to  the  clergy  of  Paris,  with  whom  M.  Bailly 
was  held  in  special  esteem.  The  new  parish  priest  of  St.  fitienne-du- 
Mont,  Pere  Faudet,  had  no  hesitation  in  entrusting  to  them  the  care 
of  some  poor  families  in  his  parish,  who  afterwards  spoke  to  him  most 
highly  of  the  visitors. 

There  existed  at  that  time  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  schools  a 
house  of  correction  for  young  criminals.  The  Conference  received 
permission  from  the  Presiding  Magistrate,  M.  de  Belleyme,  to  carry 

*  Sainte-Beuve,  Premiers  Lundis  ii.  p.  262. 


76  FREDERICK   OZANAM 

to  the  young  prisoners  the  charity  of  their  sympathy.     Ozanam,  Le 
Prevost  Le  Taillandier,  Lamache,  devoted  themselves  for  two  years 
this  thankless  apostolate  until  the  young  prisoners  were  transferred  from 
the  Rue  des  Ores  to  the  prison  of  the  Madelonnettes  at  the  other  end 

of  Paris. 

Twenty  years  later,  Ozanam,  on  the  edge  of  the  grave,  speaking  1 
the  Brothers  in  Leghorn— had  the  great  consolation  of  pointing  out 
how  God  had  been  pleased  to  make  the  tiny  little  association  of  friends 
the  nucleus  of  an  immense  brotherhood  spread  over  a  great  part  of 
Europe.  He  told  the  story  of  one  of  his  friends,  Cheruel,  who  was 
then  under  the  evil  influence  of  the  doctrines  of  Saint  Simon,  saying 
to  him  with  a  feeling  of  pity,  "  What  can  you  hope  to  accomplish  ? 
You  are  eight*  poor  young  men,  and  it  is  with  such  resources  that  you 
undertake  to  succour  the  misery  of  a  city  like  Paris  !  Were  you  indeed 
many  and  many  times  more  and  greater,  you  could  do  but  little.  We, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  busy  in  the  development  of  ideas  and  systems 
which  will  reform  the  world  and  obliterate  misery  for  ever.  In  one 
moment  we  shall  accomplish  for  humanity  all  that  you  could  possibly 
do  in  many  generations." 

"  Now,  you  well  know,  gentlemen,  what  the  theories  which  dazzle 
my  poor  friend  have  come  to.  We,  whom  he  pitied,  instead  of  eight, 
now  number  in  Paris  alone  two  thousand  Brothers,  who  visit  5,000 

families that  is  to  say  about  20,000  persons — or  one  fourth  of  the  poor 

whom  this  immense  city  holds  !  The  Conferences  in  France  alone 
number  500  ;  there  are  others  in  England,  Spain,  Belgium,  America, 
and  even  in  Jerusalem.  Thus  the  humble  beginnings  have  been 
exalted,  even  as  Jesus  Christ  was  exalted  from  the  lowly  crib  to  the 
glory  of  Mount  Tabor.  Thus  God  has  made  our  Society  His  own^and 
has  seen  good  to  spread  it  universally  and  to  bless  it  abundantly." 

*As  to  number  see  Appendix. 


ANTONK)  FEDERICO  O2ANAM . 

NAC^VE   IN  OVfcSTA  CAS  A 

iC  xxm  AWHILE 


MURAL  TABLET  ON  THE  HOUSE  IN  WHICH  OZANAM 
WAS  BORN. 


77 


CHAPTER  VII. 
ORIENTATION,  1834. 

FIRST  ITALIAN  TRIP. — LAW  OR  LITERATURE. — LITERARY  VOCATION.— SELF- 
SACRIFICE  TO  LAW. — CALLED  TO  THE  BAR. — RETURN  TO  PARIS  FOR 
THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  LAWS. 

A  trip  to  Italy  which  Ozanam  made  with  his  parents  in  the 
vacation  of  the  year  1833,  contributed  greatly  to  turn  his  mind 
definitely  towards  Catholic  literature  and  history,  particularly  to  that 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  journey  left  few  traces  in  his  correspondence. 
It  is  in  his  Life,  written  by  his  brother,  that  we  find  evidence  of  the 
deep  and  abiding  influence  which  it  had  on  his  mind. 

Madame  Ozanam  had  an  elder  married  sister  in  Florence  whom 
she  wished  to  see.  The  doctor  brought  his  wife  and  two  sons  with 
him  to  visit  her.  Madame  Ozanam  remained  with  her  sister,  while  the 
doctor  with  Frederick  and  Alphonsus,  pushed  on  to  the  north  and 
centre  of  the  peninsula. 

Frederick  desired  to  see  Milan  above  all.  It  was  his  native  city  and 
his  parents  had  resided  there  for  seven  years,  from  1809  to  1816. 
"Our  brother,"  writes  the  Abbe,  "  was  then  20  years  of  age.  His 
soul  was  full  to  overflowing  of  ardent  enthusiasm.  He  saw  the  street, 
San  Pietro  a  I'Orto,  where  he  had  been  born  :  the  Church,  Santa  Maria 
de  servi,  where  he  had  been  baptised.  Kneeling  at  the  holy  font  he 
renewed  his  baptismal  vows  and  thanked  God  for  having  made  him 
His  child." 

His  father  desired  to  take  a  little  trip  together  through  the  plains 
of  Lombardy,  where  the  Hussar  captain  of  1796  had  served  under 
General  Bonaparte,  through  Pavia,  Lodi,  Pizzighettone  and  the  bridge 
of  Arcole  which  he  had  crossed  under  the  enemy  fire.  The  three 
Frenchmen  found  France  still  at  the  citadel  of  Ancona,  where  the 
military  word  of  command  in  French,  "  En  avant  marche  !"  made 
them  start  with  glad  surprise. 


8  FREDERICK   OZANAM 

A  scene  of  another  order  took  place  at  Loretto,  where  Frederick  is  to 
be  found  serving  his  brother's  Mass  and  receiving  Holy  Communion  from 
his  hand  at  the  altar  of  the  Santa  Casa.  Next  follow  Foligno,  Umbna, 
Assissi  and  its  hills,  whence  picturesque  processions  of  peasants  des 
cended,  singing  the  canticles  of  the  Addolorata  and  bearing  her  statue, 
surrounded  by  torches:  so  many  visions  which  were  being  deeply 
impressed  on  the  mind  of  the  future  author  of  the  Franciscan  Poets. 

The  young  student  felt  himself  particularly  at  home  at  Bologna. 
Bologna  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  of  the  Renaissance  was  still  to  be 
seen  in  the  old  cloisters  of  the  renowned  University,  which  was  for 
six  centuries  a  centre  of  human  and  divine  knowledge.  During  that 
period  its  five  faculties  attracted  the  whole  of  Italy  to  the  feet  of  forty 
Professorial  Chairs.  Frederick  recalled  the  names  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  of  its  masters  :  Mondini  in  Anatomy,  Pancirole  in  Law, 
Galvani  in  Physics,  and  of  a  later  date  Mezzofante,  that  marvellous 
linguist,  who  had  been  born  in  Bologna.  The  party  spent  several 

days  there. 

A  stop  was  made  at  Rome.  His  brother  recalls  Frederick  s  prayer 
at  the  Confession  of  St.  Peter,  the  prayer  of  the  Apostles  to  tiie  Divine 
Master  :  "Adauge  nobis  fidem,  Lord  increase  our  faith  !'  He  also 
recalls  Frederick's  visit  to  the  Vatican  and  his  impatience  in  front 
of  the  locked  presses,  which  contained  the  richest  treasures  of  the 
Church's  past,  Latin,  Greek  and  Oriental  manuscripts,  with  which 
he  hoped  to  be  able  to  spend  a  full  day. 

The  father  and  sons  had  the  honour  of  a  private  audience  of  Gregory 
XVI.  They  received  a  kindly  welcome  ;  but  to  the  Holy  Father 
they  were  unknown  strangers.  It  was  not  quite  so  bad  with  Cardinal 
Fesch,  who  still  retained  his  title  of  Archbishop  of  Lyons.  Napoleon's 
uncle  received  them  in  a  salon  containing  a  marble  bust  of  the  Emperor, 
crowned  with  a  golden  laurel  wreath.  He  entertained  his  visitors  at 
dinner.  His  Eminence,  knowing  that  the  doctor  was  one  of  the  visit 
ing  physicians  to  the  Lyons  Hospital,  placed  a  large  sum  in  his  hands 
for  the  benefit  of  the  patients. 

The  travellers  hastened  to  return  to  Florence,  whither  a  charm  of 
another  order  recalled  the  young  pilgrim  of  Italian  history  and 
literature.  One  meets  Dante  at  every  turn  in  Florence.  The 
devotion  which  is  vouchsafed  to  the  Altissimo  poeta,  whom  the  city 
had  exiled,  is  almost  an  apotheosis.  Ozanam  found  evidence  of  it 
everywhere ;  his  brother  is  right  in  saying,  that  it  was  during  that 


THIRD  YEAR'S  LAW  COURSE  79 

month's  stay,  that  the  passion  and  the  culture  were  enkindled,  that 
later  illumined  his  philosophy,  his  teaching,  his  entire  life  and,  when 
that  life  was  closed,  his  name  as  author  and  doctor. 

After  such  a  literary,  historical,  and  artistic  treat,  it  was  only  to 
be  expected  that  Frederick  should  find  more  difficulty  in  resuming 
the  study  of  law,  if  indeed  he  ever  had  any  taste  for  it.  We  shall 
see  him  henceforth  in  difficulties  about  his  future  career.  For  six 
long  years  he  was  in  a  state  of  constant  perplexity,  which  was,  in  itself, 
an  agonising  trial. 

On  his  return  from  Italy  he  was  to  enter  the  third  year's  law  course, 
as  the  immediate  preparation  for  his  Licentiate  examination,  by  which 
he  would  become,  if  successful,  Barrister-at-Law.  The  third  year 
was  the  deciding  one.  Before  his  return  to  Paris,  his  parents  thought 
it  their  duty  to  warn  him  against  the  temptations  of  literature,  which 
did  not  seem  to  lead  to  any  practical  end.  From  the  very  beginning 
of  the  law  course,  in  his  first  letter,  Frederick  hastened  to  renew  to 
his  mother  his  promise  of  fidelity  to  his  legal  studies  ;  but  he  asked 
for  indulgence,  on  the  ground  of  recreation,  for  certain  little  golden 
idols  which  he  had  adored  and  which  he  could  not  find  it  in  his  heart 
to  burn.  "  Do  not  think,  dearest  mother,  that  I  shall  ever  refuse 
you  the  consolation  of  feeling  that  my  legal  studies  shall  not  be  inter 
fered  with.  But  if  some  recreation  is  to  be  allowed  me,  let  me  work 
at  literary  matters,  which  will  adorn  dry  jurisprudence.  Thus,  in 
the  evening  with  Virgil  and  Dante  beside  me,  it  pleases  me  to  occasion 
ally  write  my  Italian  impressions  and  to  traverse  again  by  myself 
the  ground  which  I  covered  so  delightfully  with  you  !  I  shall  not  at 
all  neglect  my  legal  studies  for  that.  I  have  laid  down  a  rule  for  myself 
to  work  at  least  seven  or  eight  hours  a  day,  Sundays  excepted.  That 
will  be  doing  more  than  the  majority  and  will  be  sufficient  to  discharge 
my  duty.  I  am  attending  five  courses  of  lectures.  Our  Legal  Debat 
ing  Society  has  opened,  and  I  argued  a  rather  difficult  point.  Un 
doubtedly,  it  is  folly  for  me,  as  I  often  say  to  myself,  who  am  petty 
and  dull,  to  wish  to  write  on  any  subject  but  Law,  and  to  entertain 
any  other  notions  than  those  of  hum-drum  practice.  But  my  nature 
revolts  and  tells  me  the  reverse.  Thanks  be  to  God,  I  am  not  to  be 
a  solicitor  but  a  Barrister,  and  so  far  a  pleader.  Therefore,  I  must 
cultivate  literature,  the  mother  of  eloquence." 

The  young  law  student  was  able  to  give  a  proof  of  his  fidelity  to 
his  word.  He  confided  to  his  mother  that,  on  the  preceding  Saturday, 


8o  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

two  gentlemen  had  come  to  offer  him  £80,  if  he  would  devote  three 
or  four  hours  a  day,  to  collaborating  with  them  on  their  newspaper. 
"  You  can  well  believe  that  I  refused.  Law  does  not  leave  me  four 
hours  for  other  work.  Even  if  I  had  them  to  spare,"  he  adds  proudly, 
"  I  should  not  employ  them  in  pot-boiling  journalism.  However,  I 
recognised  with  joy,  that  if  bad  times  should  ever  come,  I  should  be 
in  a  position  to  make  good  by  my  own  work,  the  sacrifices  which  you 
have  willingly  made  for  my  sake  .  .  .  ." 

On  the  7th  January,  1834  tne  question  of  a  career  again  received 
attention  and  demanded  a  definite  answer.  "  I  am  experiencing 
what  must  be  one  of  the  greatest  trials  of  my  life,  uncertainty  of  voca 
tion.  I  did  think  that  I  should  have  been  able  to  lead  openly  and 
boldly  the  life  of  a  Barrister,  of  a  savant,  and  of  a  public  man.  Now, 
when  I  am  approaching  the  end  of  my  legal  studies,  I  feel  that  a  choice 
must  be  made  between  them.  I  must  draw  lots  :  what  will  be  the  lot  ?" 

If  the  vocation  were  to  be  singled  out  by  aptitude  and  taste,  Ozanam's 
could  not  be  mistaken  ;  he  was  called  to  the  literary  apostolate  by 
pen  and  by  teaching. 

In  addition  to  these  signs,  his  literary  vocation  was  acclaimed 
from  without  by  a  public  tribute  and  a  chorus  of  approbation, 
which  added  temptation  to  his  own  leanings.  "  I  am  sought  on  all 
sides,"  he  added  in  the  same  letter  ;  "I  am  put  forward,  pressed  into 
a  calling  which  is  not  Law.  Because  God  and  education  have  endowed 
me  with  some  liberality  of  mind,  with  some  breadth  of  view,  they  will 
insist  on  making  me  a  kind  of  leader  of  our  Catholic  youth.  Many 
young  men  of  great  ability  appreciate  me  in  a  way  that  I  am  utterly 
unworthy  of,  men  of  a  more  mature  age  invite  me.  I  have  to  arrange 
every  plan,  I  have  to  bear  the  burden  of  every  difficulty.  It  is  im 
possible  to  hold  a  meeting  unless  I  preside  ;  five  or  six  magazines  and 
papers  are  asking  me  for  articles." 

Such  flattery  was  a  danger,  which  he  recognised.  "  I  am  not 
saying  that  out  of  self -pride  :  I  know  my  own  weakness  so  well. 
I  do  indeed  suffer  acute  pain  on  feeling  these  intoxicating  fumes 
rising  to  my  head.  They  are  sufficient  to  entice  me  away  from 
that  profession  which  was,  till  now,  the  ardent  desire  of  my  parents, 
and  to  which  I  myself  was  sufficiently  inclined." 

"  But,  on  the  other  hand,  might  not  that  combination  of  circum 
stances  be  in  itself  a  sign  of  the  divine  will  ?  I  do  not  know  .  .  . 


TRUST  IN  GOD  81 

Thus  once  my  Law  examination  is  over,  I  know  nothing  of  what  my 
future  is  to  be.     All  is  darkness,  uncertainty,  torture." 

Such  was  the  struggle  which  was  to  last  a  long  time.  The  attractions 
were  all  on  one  side  :  the  desire  of  his  family  on  the  other.  Who  was 
to  decide  ?  Ozanam  appealed  to,  and  placed  his  fate  in,  the  hands  of 
a  higher  will.  We  read  on  the  next  page  :  "What  is  the  use  of  knowing 
what  we  are  to  do,  unless  it  be  to  do  good  ?  Let  us  do  good,  let  us 
do  all  the  good  we  can,  and  trust  to  God  for  the  rest.  The  will  of  God 
is  fulfilled  from  day  to  day.  The  wisest  and  the  greatest  were  those 
who  were  willingly  led  by  the  hand  of  God.  Then  let  us  have  some 
little  confidence  in  the  Divine  Father,  without  Whose  Will  not  one 
single  hair  falls  from  the  head  of  man." 

Another  remark  from  the  pen  of  this  20  year  old  moralist  is  astonish 
ing  :  "  What  poor  creatures  we  are  !  We  do  not  know  if  we  shall  be 
alive  to-morrow  :  yet  we  are  anxious  to  know  what  we  shall  be  doing 
20  years  hence"  :  adding  "For  some  time  past,  but  particularly  since 
I  have  seen  some  young  people  die,  life  appears  to  me  in  quite  another 
light." 

Ozanam  had  for  the  first  time  seen  a  young  man  die  under  the 
following  circumstances  :— 

It  occurred  three  months  and  a  half  before  the  date  of  the  last  letter. 
On  the  3oth  December,  1833  Frederick  related  in  a  New  Year's  letter 
to  his  mother  that,  on  the  preceding  night  and  the  night  before, 
a  young  student  had  died  in  the  most  terrible  agony,  a  few  steps  from 
his  rooms,  almost  at  his  very  door.  "  His  cries  in  his  delirium  could 
be  heard  in  my  room  and  in  Chaurand's.  How  would  it  be  possible 
to  be  at  ease,  to  think  and  to  compose,  when  a  fellow  student,  a  young 
man  like  myself,  was  twisting  and  turning  on  his  bed  of  agony  and 
death  ?  Therefore,  yesterday  and  the  day  before,  we  were  constantly 
running  backwards  and  forwards  to  his  room  ;  the  image  of  the  poor 
sick  patient  haunted  us.  We  had  to  assist  at  the  Sacrament  of  Extreme 
Unction  and  at  the  necessary  legal  formalities.  Last  night  he  was 
terrible  to  look  at,  terrible  to  listen  to.  We  could  not  make  up  our 
minds  to  go  to  bed  until  one  o'clock  this  morning.  On  awakening 
we  learned  that  he  was  dead.  Alas  !  I  had  never  before  seen  anyone 
die.  One  should  accustom  oneself  to  such  terrible  sights :  it  made  a 
very  deep  impression  on  me."  It  was  close  to  the  death-bed  of 
the  youth  that  this  New  Year's  letter  was  written  "  wherein  wishes 


82  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

for  happiness  are  to  be  found  side  by  side  with  an  account  of  one  of 
the  saddest  spectacles  on  earth." 

The  deep  impression,  which  the  sight  had  made  on  him,  was  lasting. 
It  had  the  effect  of  directing  his  mind  still  more  to  the  contemplation 
of  things  eternal.  So  he  writes : — 

"Above  all,  since  I  have  seen  young  people  die,  I  begin  to  feel  that 
hitherto  I  had  not  given  a  sufficiently  prominent  place  in  my  thoughts 
to  the  invisible  world,  the  real  world.  I  think  that  I  have  not  paid 
sufficient  attention  to  two  companions  who  are  ever  walking  by  our 
side,  God  and  Death  ....  I  seem  to  appreciate  the  misfortunes 
of  life  better  and  I  shall  be  all  the  braver  to  meet  them.  I  also  seem 
to  be  less  proud.  What  practical  value  would  religious  belief  have,  if 
it  had  not  that  ?  If  religion  teaches  us  how  to  live,  it  is  to  prepare 
us  for  death." 

Is  this  the  language  of  a  student  ?  Is  it  not  rather  that  of  an  ascetic 
in  the  cloister  ?  But  Ozanam  does  not  wish  to  be  misunderstood  : 
"  Do  not  think  that  I  have  become  a  saint  or  a  hermit,  or  that  I  am 
thinking  of  entering  a  seminary.  I  regret  to  say  that  I  am  very  far 
removed  from  the  former  and  that  I  have  not  a  vocation  for  the  latter. 
Neither  think  that  I  spend  my  day  in  company  with  thoughts  of 
death.  Although  I  do  think  deeply,  as  I  have  just  said,  I  am  never 
theless  a  fairly  good  companion,  asking  nothing  better  than  a  laugh, 
and  even  spending  a  great  deal  of  time  in  my  own  way  at  that  pastime." 

He  did  not  lose  his  time,  one  can  readily  believe,  in  the  gross  or 
licentious  amusements  of  the  young  bloods,  which,  he  declared,  only 
inspired  him  with  contempt  and  disgust.  A  letter  dated  the  I2th 
February,  thus  mentions  the  Carnival  of  the  Latin  Quarter :  "  Here, 
Shrove  Tuesday  has  been  a  madder  day  than  usual.  One  half  of  the 
students  of  my  house  spend  the  night  dancing,  I  know  not  where, 
and  returned  at  early  morning." 

He  went  to  hear  the  sermons  of  the  Abbe  Lacordaire,  and  to  those 
of  a  young  priest  from  Lyons,  the  Abbe  Coeur,  a  young  orator  who 
drew  crowds  to  St.  Roch.  He  dined  at  M.  Ampere's  on  Epiphany 
Sunday.  He  was  invited  to  the  soirees  of  a  celebrated  barrister,  M. 
Janvier,  who  desired  to  make  his  acquaintance  on  the  strength  of 
one  of  his  articles  in  the  Revue  Europeenne. 

He  says  elsewhere  :  "  My  somewhat  melancholy  disposition  has  no 
-taste  for  Society  or  for  great  receptions.  However,  as  I  well  under 
stand  how  useful  they  can  be  to  me,  I  should  gladly  go,  if  the  oppor- 


JEAN  JACQUES,  JUNIOR  83 

tunity  offered.  But  who  would  bother  with  a  young  fellow  like  me, 
devoid  of  the  elegant  and  charming  manners  that  Society  requires  ? 
Moreover,  there  are  so  many  knocking  at  the  doors  of  the  salons  ! 
It  gives  them  enough  to  do  to  open  to  callers,  without  going  out  into 
the  highways  and  the  byeways  to  seek  out  the  blind  and  the  halt." 

In  Ampere's  home,  Ozanam  met  at  table  on  Twelfth  Night  Jean 
Jacques,  junior,  thirteen  years  older  than  he.  He  had  a  facile,  brilliant, 
and  highly  cultivated  mind,  very  widely  read,  of  an  all  but  universal 
erudition,  an  historian,  a  poet,  a  dramatist,  a  distinguished  author, 
a  world  wide  traveller,  a  brilliant  conversationalist,  an  attractive 
professor.  M.  Ampere,  junior,  formerly  conference  master  at  the 
ficole  Norm  ale,  became  a  Professor  in  the  College  de  France  in  1834, 
where  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  on  Scandanavian  poetry.  He 
was  about  to  enter  the  Institute  of  France  while  waiting  to  take  his 
place  in  the  French  Academy.  The  nature  of  his  works  on  Northern 
Literature  attracted  Ozanam  especially,  as  the  young  savant  was  but 
34  years  of  age.  On  the  other  hand,  the  distance  which  separated  their 
two  minds  was  still  greater  than  the  disparity  in  years. 

German  philosophy  had  left  its  mark  on  the  traveller.  Jean  Jacques' 
religion  scarcely  went  farther  than  a  spiritualism  which  respected 
religious  belief  :  it  was  at  most  a  free  and  easy  Christianity.  His 
habits  as  well  as  his  inclinations  kept  him  in  the  world  of  the  Parisian 
salons,  where  Madame  Recamier  was  queen  and  Chateaubriand  king. 
Daily  communication,  and,  above  all,  daily  contact  with  such  a  charm 
ing  Parisian  constituted  a  dangerous  quicksand  for  an  open-hearted 
young  man  who  was  easily  influenced  by  everything  that  characterised 
genius  and  glory.  Ozanam's  refined  tact  and  sense  of  moral  delicacy 
enabled  him  to  avoid  the  danger.  What  is  noticeable  in  their  first  corres 
pondence  is  a  respectful  reserve,  mingled  with  admiration  and  gratitude 
on  the  part  of  the  younger,  and  on  the  part  of  the  elder  an  affectionate 
and  condescending  interest  which  watched  the  welfare  of  the  student. 
It  continued  to  prove  an  amiable  and  powerful  protection  for  the  young 
professor.  Later,  their  hearts  were  opened  to  one  another,  understood 
one  another,  were  fused  into  a  friendship  equally  tender  on  both  sides, 
but  more  profoundly  religious  on  Ozanam's  part.  He  occupied  himself 
before  God  in  praying  for  this  great  elder,  whose  salvation  he  desired. 
We  shall  find  Ozanam  reminding  him  of  those  matters  gently,  in  the 
accents  of  an  apostle's  heart  appealing  to  the  heart  of  a  brother. 

The  Conferences  of  the  Abbe  Lacordaire,  which  Ozanam  mentioned 


84  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

as  his  chief  delight  in  the  Lent  of  1834,  were  the  last  which  that  orator 
gave  in  Stanislaus  College.  Ozanam  wrote  of  him  in  the  same 
letter :  "All  our  Lenten  preachers  are  put  in  the  shade  by  the  Abbe 
f  Lacordaire,  who  holds  conferences  every  Sunday  in  Stanislaus  College. 
The  young  men  are  crowding  to  them.  A  number  of  students  from 
the  Polytechnic,  many  more  from  the  ficole  Normale,  distinguished 
personages,  members  of  Parliament,  professors,  savants,  mingle  in 
the  audience.  At  the  close  of  each  lecture  they  depart,  amazed  at 
what  is  said  in  such  simple  straightforward  and  touching  language. 
In  truth,  he  is  not  of  the  present-day  school  of  preachers,  but  rather 
of  that  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  such  as  St.  Augustine  and  St. 
Chrysostom." 

We  must  see  what  opinion  is  held  of  the  world  by  this  soul,  from  the 
lofty  heights  whereon  it  dwells,  from  the  paths  it  traverses  "  between 
God  and  Death,"  for  it  is  the  history  of  a  soul  that  we  are  writing.  It 
is  in  a  long  and  important  letter  to  his  mother  that  he  unfolds  it, 
under  date  i6th  May,  1834. 

"As  we  grow  up,"  he  writes,  "and  as  we  see  the  world  more  closely, 
we  are  grieved  to  find  it  hostile  to  every  ideal  and  to  every  sentiment 
that  is  dear  to  us.  The  more  closely  we  come  into  contact  with  men, 
the  more  we  discover  pride  and  selfishness  ;  pride  among  savants,  folly 
among  people  of  the  world,  intemperance  among  the  masses.  When 
one  has  been  reared  in  a  pious  family,  such  a  sight  fills  the  heart  with 
disgust  and  indignation,  and  one  is  tempted  to  protest  and  to  condemn. 
But  the  Gospel  forbids  that ;  it  places  before  us  the  duty  of  devoting 
ourselves  entirely  to  the  service  of  that  same  Society  that  repels  and 
despises  us." 

Social  action  and  social  service,  instead  of  protests  and  maledictions, 
such  is  indeed  his  resolution.  At  the  date  of  this  letter,  i6th  May, 
Ozanam  had  just  attained  his  majority  in  the  eyes  of  the  State  and  the 
Church.  He  was  21  years  of  age  on  the  23rd  April.  He  was  now  a  man 
and  felt  the  duty  and  the  need  of  being  a  soldier.  "  I  am  of  an  age 
to  fast,"  he  writes  to  his  mother,  "and  to-morrow  I  fast  with  the 
Church.  Am  I  not  also  of  an  age  to  suffer  something  and  to  fight  as 
she  does  ?"  And  he  will  fight.  His  letter  continues  :  "Charged  with 
bigotry  by  free-thinking  companions  and  with  liberality  of  thought 
and  rashness  by  elders,  amid  controversies  and  disputes  where  charity 
is  not,  and  scandal  abounds,  surrounded  by  political  parties  who 
would  willingly  drag  us  in  their  mire  as  we  have  attained  unto  the 


LAW   OR    LITERATURE?  85 

vote,  that,  my  dearest  mother,  is  a  sad  existence.  But  I  do  not 
grumble,  for  I  do  not  forget  that  it  is  a  trial  which  Providence  will 
have  me  pass  through,  in  order  that  I  may  afterwards  serve  better." 

But  what  form  was  that  service  to  take  ?  This  time  he  avoided 
the  painful  subject.  "Perhaps  I  am  wrong  in  wishing  to  be  a  man, 
because,  dearest  mother,  I  am  still,  in  many  respects,  a  child,  am  I  not  ? 
But  I  cannot  forget  that  this  year  will  see  the  end  of  my  legal  education, 
and  that  in  the  month  of  August  I  can  be,  if  I  wish,  a  Barrister-at- 
Law  !" 

It  was,  indeed,  less  than  three  months  later  that  his  legal  studies 
would  finish.  The  promise  which  he  had  made  to  his  mother,  to  give 
up  all  his  time  to  his  studies,  had  been  kept.  He  admits  a  few  oc 
casional  interludes  which  he  allowed  himself,  an  article  on  China, 
two  on  India,  in  the  Revue  Europeenne :  he  admits  that  much,  he  accuses 
and  excuses  himself  somewhat ;  his  hand  had  been  forced  in  the  matter. 
So  all  other  occupations  were  "  henceforward  to  take  a  secondary 
place."  He  had  obeyed. 

But  at  what  a  sacrifice  !  What  a  change  of  life  !  "In  reality, 
dearest  mama,  I  do  not  understand  this  year  how  I  live  at  all.  All 
my  last  year's  habits  have  been  so  completely  altered  that  I  do  not 
know  where  I  am.  No  more  scientific  study,  no  more  conferences 
of  philosophy,  no  more  animated  discussions  such  as  we  had  last  year 
in  our  literary  society,  no  more  of  these  consecutive  pieces  of  work 
in  which  my  spirit  delighted.  All  my  little  meetings  are  no  more  : 
except  for  some  few  paltry  articles  in  periodicals  and  some  good  lec 
tures,  I  have  done  nothing  but  Law But  ennui  has  seized 

on  me  and  I  am  consumed  with  anxiety  for  my  examinations.  .  .  . 
If  the  sacrifice  has  done  my  legal  studies  some  good,  I  believe,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  it  has  cost  me  much  of  my  intellectual  life."  His 
reflections  and  impressions  as  regards  himself  and  the  world  are  summed 
up  in  this  phrase  :  "  That  is  what  is  keenly  felt  at  my  age.  Those  sad 
truths  wake  me  from  my  dreams  and  leave  me  as  grave  and  gloomy 
as  a  man  of  40." 

"A  man  of  40  !"  Alas  !  Ozanam  was  to  rest  but  one  brief  moment 
on  that  pinnacle.  God,  who  willed  that  he  should  be  perfected  in  a 
short  time,  had  matured  him  before  the  autumn  of  life.  The  majority 
of  21  years,  which  this  young  man  had  attained,  was  not  merely  one 
of  age,  but  of  mind,  of  will,  of  character,  of  heart.  Ozanam  at  21 
years  of  age  looked  out  from  on  high  on  the  world  and  judged  it  :  he 


86  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

looked  at  life  and  seized  its  reality :  he  looked  death  in  the  face 
and  it  is  "  between  Death  and  God  that  he  will  walk  in  this  life"  :  he 
gazed  on  the  Cross,  and  knew  how  to  submit  himself  entirely  to  the 
will  of  those,  who  represented  for  him  the  will  of  God.  He  was  master 
of  himself,  and  could  exalt  himself  by  humility  of  heart.  With  un 
trammelled  heart  and  steady  gaze  fixed  on  a  single  end,  we  behold 
this  young  man  ascend  towards  those  sacred  heights,  where  the  man 
is  transfigured  and  appears  in  our  eyes  ever  more  and  more  a  child 
of  God  ! 

All  the  while  the  childlike  candour  which  made  him  so  tender  a 
son  and  so  sympathetic  a  friend  did  not  leave  him. 

The  last  and  the  longest  letter  which  we  shall  find  addressed  to 
his  mother,  had,  unknown  to  himself,  all  the  sadness  and  the  tender 
ness  of  farewell.  Did  not  this  mother  complain  that  her  son  was 
abandoning  her,  that  he  did  not  now  unbosom  himself  to  her  as  for 
merly,  that  she  was  reduced  to  the  point  of  imagining  that  she  had  a 
son  ?  The  fact  being  that  Lyons  was  closed  to  all  correspondence 
by  the  state  of  Civil  War.  "  But,"  he  replied  to  her,  "  how  I  did 
long,  dearest  mama,  to  run  to  you,  to  embrace  you,  to  caress  you  !" 

He  was  able  on  this  occasion  to  "  unfold  his  heart  to  her."  In 
eight  full  pages  he  recalled  his  life  as  a  child,  their  home  life,  "  her 
gentle  soothing  words,  when  as  a  schoolboy  he  worked  at  the  table 
beside  her  :  how  in  6th  class,  he  asked  her  advice  and  help  in  his  exer 
cises  :  in  Rhetoric  how  he  read  to  her  his  French  compositions :  the 
warnings  and  occasional  scoldings  of  papa,  his  walks  with  her,  her 
stories  of  the  war,  etc.,  etc." 

Then  at  the  end  of  these  sweet  memories  his  hopes  :  "  I  believe, 
dearest  mother,  that  with  the  help  of  God  a  day  will  come,  when  I 
shall  be  able  to  repay  you  in  filial  piety  and  in  happiness  some  part 
of  the  care,  strength,  and  health  that  you  expended  on  me."  He 
spoke  to  her  also  of  his  devotions  and  of  Pere  Marduel  as  the  "only 
man  who  in  kindness  and  prudence  could  hope  to  replace  father  and 
mother."-  "  Thus,  dearest  mother,  I  cherish  the  hope,  notwithstanding 
all  my  defects  and  all  my  weakness,  that  I  may  not  prove  too  unworthy 
of  my  parents,  that  I  may  become  a  zealous  Christian,  a  serious  citizen 
and  a  virtuous  man.  Adieu,  dearest  mother.  Do  not  fear,  dear  mama, 
that  I  shall  abandon  you." 

A  letter  written  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  2ist  July, 
addressed  to  a  friend  from  Lyons,  mentioned  that  he  was  working  at 


VISIT  TO  LAMARTINE  87 

law  at  the  moment.  In  that  year,  at  that  very  hour,  he  was  in 
handigrips  with  the  texts  for  his  fourth  examination.  "  Therefore,  good 
night,  dear  friend.  Before  a  month  is  out  we  shall  be  able  to  talk  of 
many  things  that  the  pen  cannot  do  justice  to  !" 

Before  the  I5th  August  Frederick  returned  to  Lyons.  He  had  been 
called  to  the  Bar.  "la  Barrister  1"  he  wrote  to  his  mother.  "Can 
you  imagine  that  ?  After  all,  the  title  of  Barrister  in  itself  is  not 
much."  What  other  title  was  he  then  thinking  of  adding  ? 

The  young  Barrister  found  Lyons  on  his  return  crowded  with  soldiers, 
flanked  on  all  sides  with  guns,  bearing  in  its  streets  and  on  its  ramparts 
the  traces  of  the  April  insurrection,  and  suffering  in  its  business  from 
the  disastrous  after  effects  of  civil  war.  On  the  other  hand,  he  found 
all  the  joys  of  family  life  re-united  under  the  paternal  roof,  of  which  he 
speaks  enthusiastically.  He  also  met  in  Lyons  his  college  companions 
in  Law  and  in  the  Conference,  de  La  Perriere,  Dufieux,  Chaurand, 
Bietrix,  and  others  whom  he  saw  daily  at  their  home  or  at  his  own. 

The  outstanding  feature  and  the  event  of  his  holidays  in  1834  was  a 
visit  to  Lamartine  accompanied  by  Dufieux,  who,  being  a  friend  of 
the  poet,  had  obtained  permission  to  introduce  his  friend.  Lamartine 
was  living  in  his  castle  of  Saint  Point  in  the  mountains,  four  miles 
from  Macon,  where  he  exercised  a  civilising  and  beneficent  influence. 
Ozanam  wrote  to  Lallier :  "M.  de  Lamartine  brought  us  both  into 
his  bungalow  where  we  conversed  together  for  close  on  two  hours. 
He  unfolded  his  noble  political  ideas,  his  beautiful  literary  theories  : 
he  made  many  enquiries  about  the  youth  of  the  schools  and  the  spirit 
which  animated  them,  and  he  appeared  to  me  to  be  full  of  hope  for 
the  future.  ...  At  table,  and  in  the  drawing-room  he  was  extremely 
amiable.  He  pressed  us  more  than  once  to  spend  a  week  with  him. 
As  that  was  not  possible,  he  made  me  promise  to  go  and  see  him 
when  he  would  be  in  Paris  the  coming  winter.  We  dined  and  spent 
the  night  with  him.  The  next  day  he  himself  showed  us  his  two  other 
houses,  Milly  and  Monceaux  .  .  .  ." 

Ozanam  admits  being  altogether  under  the  influence  of  the  captivat 
ing  Lamartine,  who,  in  his  43rd  year,  was  then  at  the  meridian  of  his 
genius,  his  beauty,  his  eloquence  and  his  glory. 

"  What  would  you  have  ?  The  sight  of  that  superior  being  fascin 
ated  me  :  notwithstanding  the  fact  that,  before  visiting  him,  I  had 
taken  the  precaution  of  reading  a  certain  chapter  in  the  Imitation, 
which  put  me  on  my  guard  against  human  respect." 


88  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

We  need  not  therefore  be  astonished  to  read  as  follows,  soon  after 
wards  :  "Oh  !  all  my  literary  ambition,  all  my  uncertainty,  have  re 
turned  stronger  than  ever,  the  desire  to  do  good  inextricably  mingled 
with  the  desire  to  gain  glory  :  but  with  that,  the  consciousness  of  my 
nothingness,  the  true  appreciation  of  my  social  position  and  the  necessity 
that  I  am  under  of  working  for  my  livelihood."  What  was  he  going  to 
do,  what  was  he  going  to  become,  on  the  re-opening  of  the  schools  ? 
"My  uncertainty  is  not  ended.  I  have  consulted  my  brother.  He 
is  of  opinion  that  it  is  not  yet  time  to  cut  the  Gordian  knot.  He 
insists  on  my  promising  to  follow  Law  and  Literature  at  the  same 
time." 

Everything  was  calling  him  back  to  Paris  ;  absence  from  there  was 
even  producing  a  sort  of  homesickness  :  "  Left  without  news,  letters, 
or  papers  from  Paris,  I  am  already  beginning  to  feel  the  monotony 
of  provincial  life." 

What  was  calling  him  back  to  Paris  more  than  anything  else  was 
the  memory  of  the  friends  whom  he  had  left  there.  No  one  was  dearer 
to  his  heart  than  Lallier,  as  the  following  ardent  letter  shows :  "  Even 
now,  as  I  am  enjoying  my  mother's  embraces,  my  elder  brother's 
example  and  advice,  my  younger  brother's  affection,  I  do  not  cease 
to  regret  my  comrades  in  Paris,  the  charity  and  genial  kindness  of 
M.  Bailly,  the  long  evenings  that  we  passed  in  one  another's  company  : 
above  all  in  yours,  my  dear  friend,  who,  in  advice  and  example,  proved 
such  a  sincere  and  Christian  friend.  You  know  well  that,  of  the  young 
men  whom  I  have  known  during  my  exile  in  the  capital,  you  are  the 
one  I  liked  best.  It  is  you  whom  I  have  rescued  when  you  lay  in 
hiding  in  your  little  room,  a  prey  to  gloomy  and  despondent  ideas. 
It  is  you,  in  your  turn,  who  so  often  inspired  me  with  holy  and  salu 
tary  thoughts,  who  consoled  me  in  my  grief  and  encouraged  me  when 
in  doubt.  Oh  !  We  miss  you,  all  miss  you  greatly." 

Moreover,  what  attracted  Ozanam  to  Paris  was  his  work  of  charity, 
his  young  conference,  his  poor :  "  Here,  I  have  no  charitable  works 
to  look  after.  I  am  living  like  a  good-for-nothing.  How  I  need  your 
prayers  !  Do  not  forget  me,  miserable  as  I  am."  .  .  .  But  he  was 
recruiting  young  members  for  his  little  Society.  "  We  shall  bring 
back  with  us  to  Paris  a  band  of  good  Lyons  students.  They  will 
add  to  our  meetings,  although,  truth  to  tell,  I  no  longer  look  on  the 
Conference  of  History  but  as  a  recruiting  ground  for  the  Conference 
of  Charity." 


A  NETWORK  OF  CHARITY  89 

In  this  frame  of  mind,  it  was  a  great  source  of  joy  for  him  to  receive 
in  the  month  of  November,  a  letter  from  his  former  comrade,  Leonce 
Curnier,  from  Nimes,  informing  him  that,  following  his  example,  he 
was  trying  to  found  a  Conference  of  Charity  in  that  city.  This  friend 
said  to  him  :  "  I  was  indeed  sincere  in  promising  you  when  leaving 
to  endeavour  to  found  in  Nimes  a  Society  on  the  same  lines  as  that 
which  you  had  founded  in  Paris.  You  expressed  a  wish  to  see  France 
enveloped  in  a  network  of  charity,  and  you  enkindled  in  my  soul  some 
thing  of  that  burning  zeal  with  which  you  are  animated.  On  my 
arrival  here  I  communicated  to  a  venerable  priest  the  project  which 
owed  its  inspiration  to  you.  When  I  told  him  what  you  had  said  to 
me  and  what  I  myself  had  seen,  tears  flowed  from  his  eyes  :  '  Ah  !  we 
must  not  despair  of  the  future  of  France/  he  said,  '  as  long  as  there 
are  in  our  generation  young  men  who  are  capable  of  giving  such  good 
example.' ' 

Ozanam  replied  at  once  :  "  Your  letter  overwhelmed  me  with  joy, 
I  read  it  to  some  of  my  friends  in  the  Society,  who  are  on  holidays  here. 
I  also  wrote  immediately  to  those  members  who  are  in  Paris,  informing, 
them  of  your  good  news.  But  let  me  first  congratulate  you  on  the  good 
work  which  you  have  commenced,  as  well  as  on  what  you  look  forward 
to  doing  in  the  future.  God  and  the  poor  will  bless  you.  We,  whom 
you  have  surpassed,  shall  be  glad  and  proud  to  have  such  a  brother. 
Our  desire  is  then  accomplished  :  you  are  the  first  echo  of  our  feeble 
voice  :  others  will  probably  soon  respond.  How  great  then  will  be 
the  merit  of  our  little  Parisian  Society,  that  it  has  furnished  the  model 
for,  and  given  the  impetus  to  others  !  A  single  thread  suffices  to 
commence  to  weave." 

What  he  missed  particularly  in  Lyons  and  "\\hat  especially  attracted 
him  to  Paris  was  the  intellectual  life,  the  public  lectures,  the  scientific 
studies  of  all  kinds  which  can  be  had  in  perfection  only  in  the  capital : 
41  Here  on  vacation  I  live  like  a  Boetian  and  I  scarcely  do  any  work." 

He  was  to  return  to  Paris  with  his  father's  consent.  Such  was  the 
great  news  that  he  had  for  Lallier  on  the  I5th  October.  "  I  have 
leave  from  my  father  to  return  to  Paris  for  two  years.  I  shall  take 
out  my  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  quietly,  and  shall  study  Oriental 
languages  at  the  same  time.  But,  no  more  magazine  articles  :  an 
occasional  contribution  to  the  Conference  (of  History),  if  there  is  one, 
or  for  the  Revue  Europeenne,  if  it  still  exists.  My  future  I  leave  in  the 
hands  of  Providence.  I  shall  accept  willingly  whatever  place  He 


90  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

will  be  pleased  to  assign  me  to,  however  lowly  it  may  be.     It  will  be 
always  noble,  if  it  be  filled  worthily." 

Ozanam  arrived  in  Paris  in  the  middle  of  November,  1834.  He  came 
to  finish  his  legal  and  professional  studies.  Nor  was  he  without  thought 
of  another  order  of  studies,  the  bold  desire  of  which  breaks  through  the 
following  lines  to  his  mother  :  "  I  must  express  to  you,  dear  mama,  my 
fixed  desire  at  all  times  to  do  anything  in  my  power  to  fulfil  my  duty. 
Before  I  return  to  you  this  year,  I  shall  sit  for  my  examination  of 
Doctor  of  Laws.  I  hope  to  pass  with  Honours.  If  I  may  not  do  some 
thing  in  addition  to  that ;  if  I  may  not  devote  myself  as  much  as  I 
should  wish  to  other  and  more  congenial  studies  ;  if  I  may  not  have 
two  strings  to  my  bow ;  if  I  am  to  use  only  the  strong  G  string  and  neglect 
the  brilliant  and  harmonious  E  string,  I  shall  be  resigned.  I  shall 
suffer  as  a  consequence  ;  I  shall  be  deprived  of  a  source  of  pleasure 
to  which  I  looked  forward.  But  at  least  I  shall  not  have  been  found 
wanting  in  my  duty." 

Duty,  Duty  in  sacrifice  :  do  not  the  last  words  of  that  letter  sum 
up  the  state  of  his  mind  during  those  three  years  of  study  and  uncer 
tainty  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  YOUNG  SOUL  OF  THE  APOSTLE 

SUB-DIVISION  OF  THE  CONFERENCE. — PATRON,  ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL. — 
AIM  OF  THE  SOCIETY,  THROUGH  AND  FOR  YOUTH. — SALVATION  OF 
SOULS.— JESUS  CHRIST  IN  THE  POOR. — "DEVOTION  EVEN  UNTO 
MARTYRDOM." — DEGREE  IN  ARTS  AND  DOCTOR  OF  LAWS. 

1835 

Towards  the  end  of  November,  1834  we  find  Ozanam  "  installed  in  a 
very  pretty  little  room  with  only  one  drawback,  that  it  is  on  the  sixth 
storey.  But  it  has  good  air  and  a  view  of  the  gardens."  He  is  not 
alone  :  he  has  for  a  companion  "  a  very  amiable  young  man  who  is 
well  informed  and  has  sound  common  sense."  It  was  Auguste  le 
Taillandier,  his  fellow  founder  of  the  Conference  of  Charity.  "  The 
only  fault  I  have  to  find  with  him  is,  that  he  is  not  from  Lyons  ;  so 
even  while  living  so  much  together  we  have  alas  !  the  prospect  of 
parting  in  a  year,  perhaps  for  ever.  In  very  truth,  we  are  high  and 
puissant  lords." 

Ozanam  was  able  to  write  two  years  later  to  his  former  chamber 
companion  :  "Alas  !  my  dear  friend,  we  were  living  but  two  short 
years  ago  as  brothers,  our  two  lives  were  but  as  one.  How  sweet  is 
the  memory  of  those  times  !" 

The  academic  year  1834-5  was,  for  those  two  friends  and  brothers 
in  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  distinguished  by  a  rapid  development  of  the 
Society  in  Paris.  We  left  it  with  20  or  25  members  at  the  end  of  its 
first  year,  1833.  In  1834,  when  we  pick  up  its  threads  again,  the  per 
fume  of  Charity  has  begun  to  spread  beyond  the  bounds  of  the 
Conference.  One  of  the  Poor  Law  administrators  of  the  XII 
Ward,  M.  Vollot,  asked  for  the  co-operation  of  the  Brothers  in  the 
visitation  of  his  poor.  They  gave  it  to  him  nobly.  On  the  ist  of 
February,  1834  the  Society  took  over  this  work,  which  it  continued 
and  maintained  in  subsequent  years. 


92  FREDERICK   OZANAM 

On  the  4th  February,  in  the  same  year,  they  added,  for  the  first 
time,  at  each  meeting  the  invocation  of  our  holy  Patron,  "St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  pray  for  us."  About  the  same  time  was  adopted,  as  the  prin 
cipal  feast  of  the  Society,  that  of  the  same  Saint,  celebrated  on  the 
19th  July.  Ozanam  was  insistent  that  the  Conference  should  also 
be  placed  under  the  patronage  of  the  Most  Holy  Virgin.  The  Hail 
Mary  was  then  added  to  the  usual  prayers,  and  it  was  decided  to  cele 
brate  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  with  special  devotion. 

On  the  I2th  April  the  members  of  the  Conference  were  gathered 
together  in  the  chapel  of  the  Lazarists,  in  the  Rue  de  Sevres,  to  venerate 
the  relics  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  which  had  been  just  restored  thither. 
They  had  lain  for  four  years  in  the  College  of  Roye,  in  Picardy,  where 
they  had  been  concealed  since  the  July  Revolution. 

The  veneration  of  "  the  father  of  his  country,"  as  he  had  been  named 
by  his  generation,  had  grown  more  and  more  in  these  young  hearts. 
About  this  time  a  few  of  the  Brothers,  with  Ozanam  at  their  head, 
decided  to  celebrate  his  feast  in  the  little  suburban  parish  of  Clichy, 
of  which  Pere  Vincent  had  been  Parish  Priest  up  to  1612.  These 
young  zealots  of  charity  did  not  merely  regard  themselves  as  his 
parishioners  by  desire,  but  as  his  heirs,  his  children  ;  it  was  as  such 
that  they  sought  the  honour  of  carrying  his  shrine  in  the  procession. 
41  Vincent  de  Paul  was  not  the  man,"  wrote  Ozanam,  "  to  build  on 
sand  or  for  the  moment.  The  great  souls  who  draw  nigh  unto  God 
have  something  of  the  gift  of  prophecy.  Let  us  then  not  hesitate  to 
believe  that  St.  Vincent  had  a  vision  of  the  evils  and  the  needs  of  our 
times.  He  is  still  making  provision  ;  like  all  great  founders  he  never 
ceases  to  have  his  spiritual  posterity  alive  and  active  amid  the  ruins 
of  the  past." 

"  In  our  Patron  we  shall  honour  a  father.  Who  knows  but  that  one 
day  we  shall  see  the  children  of  our  old  age  shelter  in  the  bosom  of  a 
widespreading  Society,  over  whose  birth  we  have  watched  ?  That 
will  be  the  regeneration,  the  rising  flood,  which,  like  the  waters  of  a 
beneficent  river,  will  renew  the  face  of  our  own  poor  country  and  fer 
tilise  its  soil." 

Summing  up  his  thoughts  in  these  few  words,  Ozanam  declared  that 
"A  patron  is  an  ideal  whom  we  must  place  before  us,  a  superior  type 
whom  we  must  seek  to  realise,  a  life  which  must  be  continued,  a  model 
on  earth  and  a  protector  in  Heaven." 

During  the  holidays  of  the  same  year,  1834,  the  membership  of  the 


SUB-DIVISION  93 

Conference  had  become  sufficiently  large  to  render  suspension  of  the 
visitation  of  the  poor  in  their  homes  unnecessary.  Ozanam  said, 
"Gentlemen,  let  us  not  forget  that  the  poor  have  no  holidays." 
Absent  members  arranged  to  have  their  places  supplied  by  members- 
living  in  Paris.  The  most  devoted  of  these  substitutes  was  Le  Prevost, 
who  was  steadily  gaining  influence  in  the  Society. 

At  the  first  meeting  after  his  return  from  Lyons,  Ozanam  acquainted 
his  brother  members  of  his  correspondence  with  M.  Curnier  a  propos 
of  the  foundation  of  a  Conference  in  Nimes.  "  I  have  had  to  read  a 
great  part  of  your  letter,"  he  informed  him,  "  to  our  colleagues,  with 
the  Parish  Priest  in  the  chair  on  that  occasion.  The  impression 
which  it  made  on  them  can  only  be  expressed  in  the  words  of  one  of 
them  :  "  In  truth,  this  is  the  Charity  of  the  Early  Ages  of  Christianity." 

Ozanam  advised  his  Nimes  friend  "  of  new  arrangements,  which 
the  increase  in  the  number  of  members,  now  numbering  one  hundred, 
would  necessitate."-  "  It  is  probable  that  we  shall  have  to  sub 
divide  our  Conference  into  several,  which  will  all  hold  a  periodical 
general  meeting  in  common."  It  had  become  a  necessity.  The  house 
on  the  Place  de  la  Vieille-Estrapade  had  become  too  small.  The 
meetings  had  become  rather  noisy  and  confused,  the  duration  too 
short  for  the  reports  of  the  visitation  of  the  poor,  and  for  the  necessary 
explanation  of  their  needs.  Had  not  the  moment  in  fact  arrived  for 
the  enlarging  of  the  circle  of  action  by  the  establishment  of  a  second 
Conference,  to  be  followed  in  all  probability  by  several  others  ?  It 
was  a  serious  question,  a  tremendous  consideration.  To  subdivide, 
was  that  not  to  separate,  to  break  up  ?  No,  it  was  to  grow.  The 
guest-chamber  was  taken  by  assault  by  the  youthful  recruits,  who 
demanded  the  opening  of  the  doors,  or  the  liberty  to  swarm. 

Ozanam  proposed  on  the  i6th  December  that  the  Conference  should 
subdivide  into  three  sections,  distinct,  but  linked  together.  "  It 
raised  such  a  violent  storm,"  relates  Claudius  Lavergne,  who  was  pre 
sent,  "  that  M.  Bailly,  the  President,  instead  of  appearing  to  doze, 
as  was  his  practice  on  such  occasions,  at  once  adjourned  the  discussion 
for  a  week,  and  appointed  a  sub-committee  of  three  members  from 
each  side  to  examine  and  report  on  the  proposal."  While  Ozanam's 
proposition  was  supported  by  Lallier  and  Arthaud,  others  like  Le 
Taillandier  and  Paul  de  la  Perriere  opposed  it  or  demanded  its  adjourn 
ment,  through  love  of  that  unity  which  had  cemented  dear  and  precious 
friendships.  "  M.  Bailly  remained  the  impartial  judge,  but  it  was 


94  FREDERICK    OZANAM 

sufficiently  clear  that  the  proposition  did  not  find  favour  with  him." 
It  was,  therefore,  not  from  him  that  the  inspiration  and  the  conception 
of  a  boundless  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  came. 

"  The  Brother,"  he  continues,  "  who  hurled  this  brand  of  discord 
into  their  midst  was  nevertheless  the  meekest,  most  peaceful  and  most 
thoughtful  among  them.  It  is  only  necessary  to  mention  the  name 
of  Le  Prevost  de  Preville,  one  of  the  latest  recruits,  it  is  true,  but  the 
one  who,  after  Ozanam,  got  the  best  hearing.  I  formed  part  of  the 
opposition,  and  when  our  orator,  Paul  de  la  Peniere,  developed  the 
arguments  with  which  he  was  to  rout  Le  Prevost,  I  did  not  find  his 
address  by  any  means  unanswerable.  The  stormy  meeting  of  the  23rd 
resulted  in  an  adjournment." 

The  supporters  of  sub-division  received  very  valuable  encourage 
ment  on  the  24th  from  the  powerful  advocacy  of  the  Abbe  Combalot. 
He  celebrated  midnight  Mass  in  the  Carmelite  Church.  While  joining 
in  the  friendly  midnight  meal  he  urged  with  eloquence  and  with  in 
sistence  on  the  advantage  and  advisability  of  sub-division.  It  was 
also  the  decided  opinion  and  ardent  desire  of  Sister  Rosalie.  The 
debate  on  Ozanam 's  proposition  was  resumed  by  Arthaud  on  the  30 th 
December,  and  appeared,  as  a  matter  of  urgency,  on  the  agenda  of 
the  following  day. 

The  3 ist  December  was  the  day  of  the  great  struggle. 

Every  member  was  early  in  his  seat  in  the  hall  of  the  Place  de  1' 
Estrapade.  The  meeting  was  larger  and  more  full  of  animation  than 
ever.  The  discussion  was  very  lively.  Paul  de  la  Perriere,  opening 
the  opposition,  was  more  eloquent  and  more  insistent  than  usual. 
Le  Taillandier  was  seen  to  weep ;  the  idea  of  separation,  but  still  more 
that  of  dissension,  rent  his  heart.  Ozanam  spoke  and  unfolded  a  vast 
perspective  of  good  to  be  accomplished  by  general  extension.  It 
became  then  the  thesis  of  the  joy  and  benefit  of  Christian  friendship, 
at  issue  with  the  incommensurable  ambition  of  charity. 

One  could  no  longer  make  oneself  heard,  and  minds  were  as  excited 
as  it  was  possible  to  be.  They  had  come  to  the  night  of  the  3ist  of 
December,  1834.  Night  was  advancing,  midnight  bells  had  just  rung 
out  ushering  in  a  new  day  and  a  New  Year.  M.  Bailly  besought  the 
young  orators  to  end  a  discussion  which  had  already  lasted  too  long. 
But  how  ?  Ozanam  arose  and  went  over  to  La  Peniere.  They  both 
embraced  as  Brothers  with  mutual  good  wishes  for  the  New  Year. 
All  applauded,  followed  their  example,  and  left  the  hall  happy  and 


PERSONAL  SANCTIFICATION  95 

united.     They  handed  over  to  the  Board  of  the  Conference  the  difficult 
task  of  satisfying  everyone. 

Several  forms  of  compromise  were  tried  and  dropped.  For  some 
time  partial  Conferences  held  separate  meetings  in  two  rooms  of  the 
same  old  house  of  the  Bonnes  £tudes.  Then  one  was  transferred  to 
the  parish  of  St.  Sulpice,  under  the  presidency  of  M.  Gossin.  Almost 
at  the  very  same  time  two  other  branches  sprang  up  :  the  Conference 
of  St.  Philippe  du  Roule,  which  was  due  to  the  efforts  of  M.  Clave, 
and  the  Abb6  Maret,  the  subsequent  Bishop  of  Sura,  Vicar  of  the 
Parish  :  and  the  Conference  of  Notre  Dame  de  Bonne-Nouvelle.  Lest 
the  sub-division  should  loosen  the  original  bond  of  unity,  care  was 
taken  to  lay  down  a  rule  for  the  holding  of  general  meetings,  in  which 
the  members  met  in  common  and  drank  in  together  the  true  spirit 
of  the  Society.  Those  meetings  were  presided  over  by  M.  Bailly, 
Father  Bailly,  the  guardian  of  the  Society's  traditions,  and  were  ani 
mated  by  the  spirit  of  Frederick  Ozanam,  who  continued  to  be  the  soul 
of  the  scattered  family. 

According  as  the  Society  was  developing  in  numbers  and  importance, 
a  similar  growth  and  enlightenment  as  to  its  aims  was  taking  place 
in  the  docile  mind  of  the  young  man.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  moulding 
him  in  the  fashion  of  founders  of  religious  institutions  in  the  Church. 

Thus,  it  is  to  be  noted  that,  instead  of  making  the  Society  a  work 
of  mere  philantrophy,  such  as  it  might  appear  to  the  world,  or  even  a 
work  of  active  religious  propaganda,  Ozanam  had  in  view  at  first  no 
thing  but  the  personal  sanctification  of  the  Brothers,  and  more 
especially  the  moral  and  religious  preservation  of  the  young  men  in 
the  schools.  He  wrote  as  follows  to  Curnier  on  the  4th  November, 
1834  :  "  In  Paris  we  are  but  birds  of  passage,  removed  for  a  time  from 
the  home  nest.  Unbelief,  that  vulture  of  thought,  hovers  over  us, 
before  swooping.  We  are  poor  young  minds  reared  within  the  bosom 
of  the  Church,  surrounded  by  an  impious  and  sensual  crowd.  We  are 
sons  of  Catholic  mothers,  entering  singly  into  new  and  perfidious 
surroundings,  wherein  irreligion  seeks  to  enlist  us.  Well,  the  first 
matter  of  importance  is  that  these  feeble  birds  of  passage  must  have 
a  protecting  shelter :  those  young  minds  must  have  a  rallying  centre 
for  the  time  of  their  exile  :  that  those  Catholic  mothers  may  have 
less  tears  to  shed,  and  that  their  sons  may  return  to  them  as  they  left 
them." 

"  It  is  therefore  of  importance,"  he  added,  "  to  form,  for  young 


96  FREDERICK    OZANAM 

students  from  the  provinces  a  Catholic  association  for  mutual  encourage 
ment,  where  friendship,  support,  and  edification  would  be  found ;  wherein 
the  family  life  of  the  home  would  be,  in  some  small  measure,  repro 
duced  :  wherein  the  older  members  would  welcome  the  new  pilgrims 
from  the  provinces  and  would  offer  them  moral  support  and  friendly 
hospitality.  Now  the  strongest  bond  of  true  friensdhip  is  charity, 
and  the  exercise  of  charity  is  the  practice  of  good  works." 

Ozanam  continues  that  if  the  Society  should  endeavour  to  come 
to  the  corporal  assistance  of  the  poor,  it  is  at  spiritual  aid  and  the  sal 
vation  of  the  soul  that  it  should  principally  aim.  Alms  would  be  but 
the  key  by  which  truth  and  grace  should  enter.  Ozanam  sees  in  the 
parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan  the  lay  mission  and  apostolate  to  the 
masses  of  the  people,  who  have  been  plundered  and  left  for  dead  by 
spiritual  thieves  and  moral  assassins.  "  The  nursing  of  the  sick 
patient  is  proposed  to  us,  lay  Samaritans.  Let  us  try  it.  Perhaps 
he  will  fear  us  less.  Let  us  endeavour  to  pour  balm  into  his  wounds  : 
let  us  whisper  words  of  consolation  and  peace  into  his  ear.  After 
wards,  when  his  eyes  shall  have  been  opened,  we  shall  lead  him  to  those 
who  are  the  guardians  and  the  doctors  of  souls.  They  are  our  hosts, 
as  it  were,  in  the  pilgrimage  here  below,  for  they  give  our  souls  the 
sacred  bread  to  nourish  them,  the  hope  of  a  better  world  to  shelter 
them."  f 

Ozanam  had  a  still  more  lofty  view  :  more  lofty  even  than  the  con 
sideration  of  the  moral  and  eternal  salvation  of  the  young  man  by  the 
practice  of  charity  :  more  lofty  even  than  the  consideration  of  moral 
and  material  aid  for  the  poor.  Ozanam  had  the  supernatural  view 
of  Jesus  Christ,  made  poor  for  the  love  of  us,  and  living  in  our  midst 
in  the  person  of  the  poor.  In  its  divine  aim  it  is  exactly  the  theological 
virtue  of  Charity. 

Ozanam  had  a  friend  from  childhood,  his  First  Communion  comrade, 
Louis  Janmot,  the  distinguished  Lyons  painter,  the  pupil  of  M.  Ingres, 
who  at  this  time,  1836,  was  completing  an  art  tour  in  Italy.  The 
student  envied  him  the  happiness  of  being  able  to  visit  Assisi  and  the 
Umbrian  country,  where  he  would  find  many  traces  of  the  seraphic 
Francis,  "  the  madman  from  love,"  who  became  a  mendicant  for  the 
sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  Thereupon  Ozanam  appealed  to  a  heart  worthy 
of  his  own  :  "  Will  not  we  too,  my  dear  friend,  do  something  to  resemble 
the  saints  we  love  ?  Will  we  be  satisfied  to  lament  the  barrenness 
of  the  present  time,  when  each  bears  in  his  heart  a  germ  of  holiness, 


EVEN  TO  MARTYRDOM  97 

which  a  simple  desire  would  be  sufficient  to  develop  ?  If  we  do 
not  know  how  to  love  God  as  they  did,  it  is  certainly  because  we  see 
God  with  the  eyes  of  faith  alone,  and  our  faith  is  so  weak  !  But  the 
poor,  we  see  with  eyes  of  the  flesh.  They  are  present.  We  can  put 
our  fingers  and  our  hands  into  their  wounds,  the  marks  of  the  crown 
of  thorns  are  plainly  visible  on  their  heads.  There  is  no  place  for 
unbelief  there.  We  should  fall  at  their  feet  and  say  to  them  with  the 
Apostle,  Tu  es  Dominus  et  Deus  meus  I  You  are  our  masters,  we  shall 
be  your  servants ;  you  are  the  visible  image  of  the  God  whom  we  do 
not  see,  but  Whom  we  love  in  loving  you." 

Finally,  to  what  degree  must  we  love  Jesus  Christ  in  the  person  of 
the  poor  ?  Ozanam  states,  to  the  point  of  self-sacrifice,  to  that  point 
of  the  sublime  proof  of  love,  which  he  calls  by  its  true  name  in  reply 
to  Leonce  Curnier. — "Even  to  martyrdom."-  "  The  world  has  grown 
cold,  it  is  for  us  Catholics  to  rekindle  the  vital  fire  which  had  been 
extinguished.  It  is  for  us  to  inaugurate  the  era  of  the  martyrs,  for 
it  is  a  martyrdom  possible  to  every  Christian.  To  give  one's  life  for 
God  and  for  one's  brothers,  to  give  one's  life  in  sacrifice,  is  to  be  a 
martyr.  It  is  indifferent  whether  the  sacrifice  be  consummated  at 
one  moment,  or  whether  slowly  consuming,  it  fills  the  altar  night  and 
day  with  sweet  perfume.  To  be  a  martyr  is  to  give  back  to  heaven 
all  that  one  has  received,  wealth,  life,  our  whole  soul.  It  is  in  our 
power  to  make  this  offering,  this  sacrifice.  It  is  for  us  to  select  the 
altar  at  which  we  shall  dedicate  it ;  the  divinity  to  whom  we  shall 
consecrate  youth  and  life  ;  the  temple  where  we  shall  meet  again  : 
at  the  feet  of  the  idol  of  egotism,  or  in  the  sanctuary  of  God  and  Human- 

ity-" 

To  be  an  apostle,  a  martyr,  that  was  his  dream.  M.  Maxime  de 
Montrond  recalls  an  evening  when  the  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  Dupuch, 
Bishop  of  Algeria,  had  come  to  visit  the  Conference  of  St.  Sulpice : 
"  Every  member  of  the  Conference  was  present  on  that  day.  The 
venerable  M.  Bailly  was  presiding  by  the  side  of  the  Abbe  Collin, 
Parish  Priest  of  St.  Sulpice.  The  young  orphans  had  been  brought 
in  from  St.  Vincent  de  Paul's.  The  Monsignor  shot  fiery  arrows  from 
his  apostle's  heart  that  pierced  ours.  I  was  beside  Ozanam.  He  and 
I  were  electrified  by  those  words.  When  we  arose  at  the  end  of  an 
hour,  having  received  the  blessing  of  that  man  of  God,  Ozanam  gripped 
my  hand  with  great  emotion,  uttering  words  that  still  ring  hi  my  ears  : 
"  What  are  we  doing  here  ?  Do  you  not  also  desire  to  set  out  with 


98  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

this  apostle  and  help  him  to  plant  the  Cross  in  Africa  ?  Oh  !  how 
paltry  and  how  petty  we  are  compared  to  him,  how  poor  our  deeds 
compared  to  what  he  will  do  !"  Is  not  continental  France  a  country 
of  missions  ? 

Now,  when  it  is  fully  understood  that  he  who  spoke  and  wrote  these 
sublime  thoughts  had  realised  them  at  the  age  of  21  years  ;  that  he 
had  dedicated  to  God  and  to  God's  poor,  his  strength,  his  health, 
life  itself  before  his  majority  :  that  he  had  thus  sacrificed  himself, 
whole  and  entire,  knowingly  and  voluntarily;  will  not  the  title  of 
martyr  be  conferred  upon  him  ?  Shall  we  be  astonished  at  finding 
a  saint  revealed  according  as  we  proceed  in  the  examination  of  his 
soul  ? 

Ozanam  resolved  definitely  to  sanctify  himself  through  sacrifice 
at  the  foot  of  the  altar  of  Notre  Dame  de  Fourviere.  He  wrote 
from  Lyons  :  "  I  have  made  a  resolution  of  more  complete  moral  reform 
during  my  remaining  two  years  in  the  capital.  I  placed  my  intentions 
under  the  auspices  of  our  Divine  Mother,  trusting  for  the  rest  to  my 
good  will  !"  Whence  had  the  inspiration  come  to  him  ?  He  un- 
burthened  himself  to  Dufieux.  He  is  to  be  seen,  first  in  his  self- 
humiliation,  then  in  his  resurrection  unto  the  virility  and  sanctity  of 
life,  approaching  what  St.  Paul  calls  "  the  fulness  of  age  in  Christ." 

"  Three  months  have  passed,"  he  confessed,  "  since  I  made 
that  resolution  at  Fourviere,  and  here  I  stand  with  empty  hands.  I  am 
suffering  from  a  spiritual  shyness  that  I  do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  shake 
off.  My  conscience  is  not  sparing  me.  With  the  desire  to  do  good 
and  much  good  on  one  side,  and  an  incredible  irresolution  on  the  other 
that  prevents  me  from  doing  anything,  I  pass  days  in  bitter  reproaches 
for  unfulfilled  resolutions,  and  in  the  formation  of  new  resolutions 
which  I  shall  not  fulfil  either." 

Striking  the  balance  of  the  account,  on  one  side  the  graces  received, 
and  on  the  other  the  constant  failures  to  respond  thereto,  he  cries 
out  "Alas  !  my  dear  Dufieux,  I  can  indeed  say  this,  since  it  is  said 
for  the  greater  glory  of  God,  it  is  probable  that  no  one  has  received 
more  generous  inspirations,  nor  experienced  more  holy  emotions, 
nor  more  noble  ambition  than  I.  There  is  not  one  single  virtue,  there 
is  not  one  moral  good  work  to  which  I  have  not  been  called  by  the 
mysterious  voice  from  within.  There  is  not  a  worthy  affection,  the 
charm  of  which  I  have  not  felt :  there  is  not  any  form  of  friendship, 
nor  of  precious  intimate  relationship,  that  I  have  not  enjoyed  ;  en- 


HUMILITY  99 

couragement  in  every  shape  has  been  vouchsafed  me ;  there  is  not  a 
zephyr  that  blows,  which  has  not  breathed  over  me  to  unfold  blossoms. 
There  does  not  exist  perhaps  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Eternal  Father, 
a  single  vine  to  which  He  has  given  so  much  care  and  attention  and 
of  which  could  be  said  with  more  justice  :  What  could  I  have  done  for  My 
vine  that  I  have  not  done  ? — And  I,  wretched  plant,  I  have  not  unfolded 
my  petals  to  the  divine  breathing ;  I  have  not  driven  my  roots  into 
the  good  soil ;  I  have  become  dried  up  and  withered.  I  recognised 
God's  gift ;  I  felt  the  living  waters  bathe  my  lips  and  I  opened  them 
not.  I  remained  a  passive  creature,  I  wrapped  myself  up  in  a  cowardly 
inertia.  I  am  incapable  of  willing  or  of  acting,  and  I  feel  accumulating 
on  my  head  the  crushing  responsibility  of  favours  that  I  daily  ignore." 

That  strength  of  God,  which  piety  alone  gives  and  nourishes,  was 
necessary,  if  he  were  again  to  get  on  his  feet  and  to  become  master 
of  himself.  "But  strength,"  he  says,  "  that  gift  from  the  Holy  Ghost 
so  necessary  to  me  who,  in  the  midst  of  perils,  is  to  walk  without 
stumbling,  is  not  in  me.  I  am  drifting  hither  and  thither, 
a  prey  to  every  caprice  of  the  imagination.  At  times  piety  seems  to 
me  a  yoke,  prayer  a  lip-habit,  Christian  practices  the  last  branch  to 
which  I  cling  to  save  myself  from  falling  into  the  abyss,  but  the  fruit  of 
which  I  cannot  gather.  I  see  my  contemporaries  advancing  with  head 
erect.  I  stand  still  in  despair  of  being  able  to  follow  them,  and  I  spend 
in  idle  lament  the  time  that  I  should  devote  to  marching  forward." 

That  religious  confidence  was  begot  in  the  presence  of  "  Him  Who 
loves  us  both  and  in  Whom  our  separated  souls  can  be  united  and  con 
verse  together."  It  is  perfected  at  the  foot  of  His  Altar  and  at  His 
Holy  Table  :  "  I  waited  until  I  should  feel  brighter  to  write  to  you. 
Yesterday  I  had  the  great  happiness  of  receiving  Him,  Who  is  the 
strength  of  the  weak  and  the  Doctor  of  souls.  To-day  I  write  to  you 
with  sincere  regret  for  the  past  and  with  good  resolutions  for  the  future. 
Oh  !  I  beg  of  you  to  pray,  that  these  latter  may  not  prove  vain." 

The  thoughts  of  Ozanam  which  we  have  just  read  were  the  fruits 
of  the  Lent  of  1835.  It  was  the  memorable  season  when  the  Lenten 
Conferences  of  the  Dominican,  the  Abbe  Lacordaire,  were  definitely  in 
augurated.  He  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  a  Church  which  teaches. 
"  Why,"  asked  the  orator  after  the  few  introductory  remarks,  "  why 
:has  this  temple  been  chosen  for  these  sermons  ?  My  dear  brethren, 
tell  me  what  do  you  ask  of  me  ?  Truth  !  Do  you  not  possess  it 
then,  etc." 


I00  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Ozanam  was  present.  We  know  the  steps  which  he  had  taken  to 
have  those  Lenten  addresses  instituted,  and  we  can  understand  with 
what  great  joy  he  welcomed  their  authoritative  inauguration  and 
brilliant  success.  At  the  close  of  the  first,  Monsignor  Quelen,  the 
Archbishop,  arose  and  thanked  "  the  man  whom  God  had  dowered 
with  piety  and  eloquence  and  with,  what  is  still  greater,  that  virtue 
which  marks  the  priest,  viz.,  obedience.  He  called  him  his  loyal  and 
faithful  friend,  the  consolation  and  joy  of  his  heart." 

Ozanam  was  enthusiastic.  One  Sunday  morning,  the  I5th  March, 
he  cut  short  a  letter  to  his  father,  because  at  half-past  twelve  o'clock 
he  had  to  be  at  Notre  Dame,  to  hear  the  Abbe  Lacordaire,  who  was 
delivering  to  an  immense  congregation  the  series  of  sermons,  which 
he  had  commenced  the  year  before  in  the  Stanislaus  College.  "The 
discourses  are  magnificent.  They  are  attended  by  the  most  distinguish 
ed  people  in  the  capital,  M.  de  Lamartine,  M.  Berryer,  etc.  Literateurs, 
scientists,  and  numbers  of  students  are  observed  there.  One  com 
plete  isle  is  reserved  for  men  and  holds  from  five  to  six  thousand. 

Ozanam  had  not  only  his  place  at  these  addresses,  but  also  his  work. 
His  letter  to  his  father  adds  :  "  I  have  to  review  those  lectures  for 
the  Univers.  I  receive  one  pound  for  each  ;  the  series  will  consist 
of  eight.  If  the  purse  does  not  gain  much,  the  spirit  will,  at  all  events, 
not  lose."  Nor  would  charity  for  the  poor  lose  either. 

The  story  is  told  how  Ozanam  managed  to  draw  to  Notre  Dame  his 
companions  at  the  schools,  particularly  those  whom  he  knew  to  stand 
most  in  need.  Several  alleged  the  difficulty  of  finding  room  :  "Come, 
I  shall  keep  a  place  for  you."  In  order  to  do  that  he  had  to  come  very 
early,  sometimes  two  hours  before  the  time  of  starting,  reserving  seats 
against  all  and  sundry  until  his  grateful  guests  should  arrive. 

Lallier  and  La  Pierriere  took  notes  by  Ozanam's  side  for  his  articles. 
The  visions  and  impressions  which  the  friend's  pen  reproduced  on 
the  I4th  March,  1835  were  also  theirs:  "When  the  congregation,  en 
tranced  by  the  accents  of  the  young  priest,  knelt  at  the  close  of  the 
sermon  to  receive  the  Papal  Benediction,  when  the  bells  of  Notre 
Dame  pealed  forth,  the  portals  opened,  and  that  mighty  congrega 
tion,  rich  in  truth,  poured  out  into  the  capital,  we  seemed  to  be 
assisting,  not  at  the  resurrection  of  Catholicity,  for  it  never  dies, 
but  at  the  religious  resurrection  of  society." 

In  the  reports  which  follow,  Ozanam  describes  the  congregation  as 
becoming  more  crowded  on  each  occasion,  and  Lacordaire  more 


ASSOCIATION  OF  FINE  ARTS  101 

splendid.     He  remarked  among  other  notabilities  present,  Chateau 
briand,  Saint  Marc-Girardin,  Ballanche,  Pastor  Athanase   Coquerel. 

Enthusiasm  increased  with  every  discourse.  The  last  was  "  superior 
in  eloquence  to  anything  I  had  ever  heard.  There  is  something  that 
heartens  the  spirit." 

Ozanam  desired  to  see  our  Holy  Mother  Church,  recognised  and 
proclaimed  Queen  of  Art  as  well  as  of  Science  and  Literature,  extend 
ing  her  sceptre  over  every  branch  of  human  thought.  About  that 
time  his  friend  de  la  Noue  wrote,  that  he  had  just  formed  an  Associa 
tion  of  Artists  and  asked  him  to  become  Vice- President  of  it.  Ozanam 
declined  the  honour,  urging,  as  an  excuse,  his  numerous  occupations, 
but  accepted  ordinary  membership  with  the  intention  of  emphasizing 
the  spirit  of  Christianity  in  the  world  of  Artists  and  of  Poets,  "  with 
whom  he  desires  to  keep  in  touch." 

He  also  had  conceived  the  plan  of  a  similar  society  "  with  a  view 
to  glorifying  religion  by  the  Fine  Arts,  and  regenerating  the  Fine  Arts 
through  religion.  The  power  of  association  is  mighty,  for  it  is  the 
power  of  love  !  That  idea  has  taken  complete  and  permanent 
possession  of  me  for  the  last  five  years."  It  would  not  be  the  Fine 
Arts  alone  that  should  be  enrolled,  but  also  Literature  and  Science : 
not  only  those  who  teach  or  study  them,  but  also  those  who  patronise 
and  love  them.  Then  there  would  be  a  Society  to  assist  and  encourage 
the  Fine  Arts  by  means  of  competitions  and  prizes  :  a  benevolent 
society  for  talent  in  distress  :  a  society  for  Catholic  propaganda  among 
the  intellectual  elite  of  the  country.  What  else?  "When  a  more 
liberal-minded  legislation  would  allow,  the  establishment  oj  Colleges, 
Academies,  Catholic  Universities  !  Ah  !  I  can  never  hope  to  realize 
that  beautiful  dream  myself,  but  I  always  hope  that  God  will 
accomplish  it,  if  men  only  co-operate." 

The  young  apostle  is  very  insistent  that  the  proposed  Association 
should  be  really  a  society  of  Christians,  of  loyal  and  practical  Catholics, 
faithful  to  the  teaching  and  to  the  direction  of  the  Church.  He  ques 
tions  his  friend  :  "  Will  it  be  religious,  in  the  rather  liberal  meaning 
of  the  word,  or  in  the  sense  which  is  actively  Christian  and  positively 
orthodox  ?  Let  us  be  convinced,  my  dear  friend,  that  orthodoxy  is 
the  nerve  centre,  the  vital  essence,  of  every  Catholic  society  ;  it  is  from 
faith  that  it  will  derive  life  and  strength." 

Just  as  all  his  ambition  was  for  the  Church,  and  as  he  rejoiced  in 
all  her  triumphs,  so  the  same  apostle  trembled  and  shuddered  at  her 


102  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

trials  and  her  sorrows.  It  was  a  great  grief  to  him  to  witness  "  the 
progress  which  the  rationalist  propaganda  is  making  among  students, 
and  the  deplorable  defection  of  some  who  but  lately  were  our  glory." 
Reading  the  Voyage  en  Orient  of  M.  de  Lamartine,  he  quickly  discovered 
the  poison  of  scepticism  mixed  with  the  honey  of  poetry  in  the  enchant 
ing  goblet.  "  Through  optimism  and  a  false  tolerance  for  the  Koran 
the  poet  has  evidently  strayed  from  the  path  of  orthodoxy,"  he  writes. 
But  Ozanam  believed  that  the  evil  was  not  without  remedy,  and  that 
time  would  obliterate  the  impurities  in  the  Oriental  ideas  and  images. 
But  his  grief  is  bitter,  and  he  cries  out :  "  It  is  that  pride  of  intellect 
which  has  already  dethroned  the  Abbe  de  Lamennais  from  the  lofty 
elevation  whereon  his  genius  and  his  faith  had  placed  him.  Now 
we  are  to  tremble  for  the  virginal  muse  of  Lamartine." 

The  faith  of  the  young  Christian  finds  expression  in  accents  of  virile 
grief :  "  Such  things  are  sad,"  he  says,  "  but  they  are  true.  We 
Catholics  are  punished,  because  we  have  placed  more  reliance  on  the 
genius  of  our  great  men  than  on  the  power  of  God.  We  are  punished 
because  we  have  taken  pride  in  their  person,  because  we  have  repelled 
with  some  disdain  the  attacks  of  unbelief  by  pointing  to  the  galaxy 
of  our  philosophers  and  poets,  rather  than  to  the  eternal  cross  !  We 
are  punished  because  we  have  leaned  upon  the  reeds  of  intellect ; 
they  have  broken  in  our  hands." 

Then  he  adds  in  a  noble  outburst :  "  Henceforward  we  must 
seek  help  from  higher  sourses.  A  slender  twig  will  not  suffice  to 
traverse  life  with  ;  we  need  wings,  the  wings  that  support  angels, 
faith  and  charity.  The  empty  places  must  be  filled.  Grace  must 
guide  us  in  place  of  genius,  which  has  failed  us.  We  must  have  courage, 
we  must  persevere,  we  must  love  unto  death,  we  must  fight  to  the  end. 
Let  us  not  count  on  an  easy  victory  ;  God  makes  that  difficult  for  us 
that  our  crowns  may  be  more  glorious." 

Even  should  genius  fail,  industry  would  not.  Taken  up  with 
Law  and  Literature,  his  share  of  the  toil  was  to  be  double, 
but  twofold  also  was  to  be  his  armour  for  the  morrow's  fight.  True, 
his  health  was  suffering.  His  correspondence  to  his  mother  discloses 
the  fact  that  owing  to  frequent  and  serious  attacks  his  doctor, 
Dr.  Durnerin,  forbade  all  unnecessary  study*  He  therefore  aban- 

*Dr.  Durnerin,  the  Christian  father  of  the  admirable  Mademoiselle  TheVese 
iQft1?611^  fo"nd^  of  the  Society  of  "  The  Friends  of  the  Poor"  in  Paris  1847- 
1905.  Her  life  has  been  written 


AUTHOR  OR  BARRISTER  103 

doned  the  course  of  Oriental  Languages,  to  confine  himself  to 
the  immediate  preparation  for  his  legal  and  literary  examinations, 
which  were  the  objective  of  the  hard  but  fruitful  scholastic  year, 
1834-35.  "As  a  matter  of  fact,"  he  says,  not  without  some  little 
irritation,  "what  will  it  matter  to  my  future  client  that  his  counsel 
knows  Hebrew  and  Sanscrit  ?  It  is  better  to  grow  musty  studying 
the  Code,  for  to-morrow  will  see  me  harnessed  to  the  Law,  even  while 
meditating  with  Seneca  on  the  contempt  of  riches."  He  consents, 
however,  to  write  an  introduction  for  the  Revue  Etiropeenne,  which  was 
then  rising  phoenix-like  from  its  ashes.  But  he  had  definitely  bidden 
adieu  to  the  Conference  of  History.  "  The  poor  little  meetings  are 
dying,  and  it  is  not  I  alas  !  who  will  revive  them." 

It  is  therefore  with  the  representative  men  of  the  Bar  on  one  side, 
and  of  contemporary  literature  on  the  other,  that  we  shall  find  him 
in  touch,  simultaneously,  if  not  equally.  On  the  8th  February, 
1835,  he  informed  his  mother  that  on  her  recommendation  he  paid 
his  New  Year's  call  on  M.  de  Lamartine  :  "  He  welcomed  me  very 
graciously.  It  seems  that  the  verses  which  I  sent  him  gave  him  genuine 
pleasure.  He  said  many  flattering  things  to  me,  which  however  gave 
me  pain,  because  they  are  not  deserved.  He  also  predicted  a  brilliant 
future  for  me,  which  does  not  appear  to  be  under  way  yet.  He  made 
a  note  of  my  address,  to  invite  me  to  dine  with  him.  He  also  asked 
me  to  come  occasionally  to  his  literary  Saturday  evenings.  I  shall 
certainly  go." 

In  the  same  letter,  he  mentioned  a  short  visit  to  M.  Sauzet  from 
Lyons,  future  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  who  insisted  on 
seeing  in  his  young  townsman  the  hope  of  the  Chamber  and  of  the 
Bar.  On  the  I5th  March  he  wrote  to  his  father :  "Sauzet  delivered 
a  speech  yesterday  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  which  was  received 
with  tumultous  applause,  and  which  is  compared  to  the  best  addresses 
of  Berry er." 

In  which  of  the  paths,  that  of  author  or  barrister,  of  poet  or  of 
politician,  will  the  future  of  the  young  student  lie  ? 

Literature  first  bore  off  the  palm  in  the  year  1835.  One  might  have 
foretold  it.  A  letter  dated  the  2nd  May  to  M.  Velay  contained  some 
unexpected  news  :  "  My  dear  Velay,  here  is  my  excuse  for  not  writing. 
I  had  lately  taken  the  notion  to  reduce  to  its  simplest  and  most  posi 
tive  form,  all  the  literature  that  I  had  learned  in  my  three  years'  stay 
here.  To  fix  my  knowledge  in  parchment  and  to  take  the  Degree  in 


I04  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Arts,  I  had  to  look  up  my  Burnouf  from  end  to  end  and  to  convince 
myself  that  I  had  never  done  any  Greek.  I  had  first  to  run  in  review 
quite  a  number  of  authors,  then  the  whole  course  of  history,  several 
parts  of  which  were  strange  enough  to  me.  This  work  occupied  me  a 
good  month,  at  the  end  of  which  I  got  this  welcome  Degree.  It  will 
serve  as  a  step  to  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  next  year.  Then  I  shall, 
please  God,  be  Doctor  of  Laws  and  Doctor  of  Literature." 

These  were  then  "  the  two  strings  to  his  bow,"  to  which  his  letters 
to  his  mother  referred,  in  order  to  serve  the  divine  King  in  a  double 
capacity,  wherever  He  would  be  pleased  to  call  His  soldier. 

His  joy  at  his  daring  academic  success  was,  however,  clouded  by 
the  grave  condition  of  his  mother's  health.  His  tenderness  for  his 
beloved  mother  seemed  to  increase  during  those  days.  He  thanked 
her  on  the  24th  February,  in  the  following  terms,  for  the  blessing 
which  she  had  sent  him  :  "  That  mother's  blessing  is  the  most  precious 
and  most  beautiful  present  which  you  could  possibly  make  me.  .  . 
I  knelt  down,  my  dear  mama,  and  asked  Him  Who  endowed  you  with 
that  blessing,  to  confirm  it,  and  never  to  let  me  be  unworthy  of  it.  I 
prayed  for  energy  and  steadiness  of  purpose  ;  I  formed  the  most 
fervent  resolutions,  and  I  have  actually  begun  to  do  better  for  the 
last  three  days."  .  .  .  Then,  as  they  were  just  at  Shrovetide,  he 
related  to  her  the  little  feasts  which  the  Lyons  students  gave  one 
another  in  their  rooms,  Arthaud,  Chaurand,  Bietrix,  La  Perriere, 
Janmot,  Ballofet,  Falconnet,  the  two  Pessonneaux  :  "  M.  Bailly,  like 
a  kind  father,  joined  occasionally  in  our  frolics." 

He  finished  his  letter  as  a  son  with  a  message  for  his  father  :  "  Will 
you  please  tell  father  a  very  flattering  piece  of  news.  M..  Andral 
delivered  one  of  his  recent  lectures  in  the  medical  course  altogether 
on  papa's  work,  History  of  Epidemics,"  which  he  spoke  of  in  the  highest 
possible  terms. — Good-bye,  mama,  love  me  as  I  shall  always  love  you. — 
Your  Son." 

She  loved  and  blessed  him  as  if  she  were  not  to  be  with  him  for  long, 
a  fact  of  which  Frederick  knew  nothing.  His  father  only  informed 
him  when  it  was  late,  and  then  only  partially.  The  son  complains : 
"  Mama  has  been  ill,  even  seriously  ill,  and  I  am  not  told.  Matters 
are  taking  place  at  home  in  which  I  am  deeply  interested  and  I  know 

nothing  of  them  ! You  have  done  this  to  spare  me  anxiety,  % 

but  it  is  not  right.  My  poor  mother  has  had  so  much  anxiety  on  my 
account,  that  I  must  now  have  it  for  her,  and  I  must  suffer  when  she 


THE   LAW   EXAMINATION  105 

suffers.  I,  her  son,  must  be  told  all,  the  more  so,  my  dear  father,  that 
it  is  useless  to  dissemble  :  the  heart  divines." 

From  this  time  forward  he  had  to  hasten  :  "  I  am  restless,  my  dearest 
mama  ;  this  uneasiness  makes  me  desirous  of  standing  my  law  examina 
tion  on  the  25th  July,  in  order  to  be  by  your  side  before  the  end  of 
the  month.  Then,  dear  mother,  I  shall  fling  my  arms  round  your 
neck,  I  shall  try  to  bring  you  joy,  that  sovereign  medicine  for  the 
soul,  which  can  cure  even  the  ills  of  the  body." 

The  work  of  preparation  was  of  the  hardest.  He  had  to  make  up 
by  closer  study  the  month  which  he  had  spent  in  obtaining  the  literary 
degree.  He  knew  "  that  at  the  first  examination  for  degree,  half  the 
candidates  fail.  He  had  counted  as  usual  on  the  review  of  the  last 
few  days."  He  worked  night  and  day.  With  his  head  in  a  whirl, 
his  teeth  set,  his  face  swollen,  he  held  on  :  "I  had  a  mustard  bath  for 
my  feet,  and  so  remained  from  eleven  at  night  to  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  I  had  to  work  still  later  during  the  last  few  nights,  and 
took  care  to  have  recourse  to  warm  footbaths  to  keep  the  blood  from 
my  head."  When  the  day  of  the  examination  arrived,  the  all  too 
energetic  young  man  was  but  a  shadow  of  himself. 

The  result  was  good  but  not  brilliant.  '  The  professors  have  done 
me  the  honour  to  ask  me  very  difficult  questions."  But  what  would 
his  father  say  ?  "I  admit  I  fear  that.  Yet,  my  good  father  has 
promised  that  he  will  not  blame  me.  He  knows  well  that  I  have  done 
my  very  best  to  please  him.  In  very  truth,  I  love  you  well  but  I 
fear  you  more.  Well,  even  so,  I  reckon  on  a  good  reception  from 
you  !"  He  signed  the  letter  "Your  son,  who  starts  in  two  hours  and 
who  will  be  with  you  in  three  days." 


io6 


CHAPTER  IX. 
LYONS  AND  PARIS 

Two  English  Chancellors. — THE  RULE  OF  THE  SOCIETY  OF  ST. 
VINCENT  DE  PAUL. — DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  LAWS. — ANGUISH  AS  TO- 
CHOICE  OF  CAREER. — FAREWELLS  TO  PARIS,  TO  THE  SOCIETY,  AND  TO- 
HIS  FRIENDS.— AMPERE'S  DEATH. 

1835-36. 

The  period  extending  from  the  beginning  of  the  holidays  in  1835 
to  those  in  1836,  which  we  are  now  about  to  touch  on,  covers  Ozanam 's 
last  year  of  legal  studies  and  was  crowned  by  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws.     This  year  was  spent  partly  in  Lyons  and  partly  in  Paris. 
In  Lyons  his  holidays  were  occupied  with  an  important  work  entitled 
Two  English  Chancellors.     In  Paris  he  was  actively  engaged  in  con 
junction  with  Lallier,  in  the  drawing-up  of  the  Rule  of  the  Society  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul.     In  the  Summer  he  bade  farewell  to  Paris,  and 
left  for  Lyons  to  take  up  a  career  which  he  entered  on  with  misgivings. 
We  saw  Ozanam  about  the  middle  of  the  month  of  August,  1835, 
hastening  to  Lyons  to  be  near  his  mother  ;  she  would  not  be  cured 
until  his  arrival.     The  journey,  which  then  occupied  two  days  and  a 
night,  was  marked  by  a  public  incident  which  was  calculated  to  display 
his  manly  Christian  character. 

In  the  interior  of  the  same  coach  were  a  German,  his  wife  and  family. 
They  were  journeying  to  Ma£on  and  would,  therefore,  unfortunately, 
be  his  companions  for  nearly  all  the  journey.  At  one  of  the  stops  a 
pretty  girl  appeared  at  the  door  of  a  house  and  the  German  seized  the 
opportunity  to  utter  in  bad  French  a  coarse  jest  to  the  young  man 
seated  opposite.  Frederick,  regarding  himself  as  offended,  silenced 
him  in  a  few  words.  When  night  came  the  man  proceeded  to  discuss  the 
same  topic  with  his  own  family  in  German,  mocking  the  '  goody-goodi- 
ness'  of  the  young  Frenchman.  Ozanam  appeared  to  be  asleep  in. 


ARRIVAL  IN  LYONS  107 

his  corner  ;  but  he  had  understood.  He  prepared  his  reply  and  waited 
till  morning.  Then  looking  the  man  straight  in  the  face,  he  addressed 
him  directly  in  a  few  chosen  phrases  in  good  German  to  the  effect  that 
a  French  gentleman  would  not  use  such  expressions  in  a  stage  coach, 
and  that  a  father  of  a  family  should  blush  with  shame  to  use  them 
before  his  wife  and  children. 

The  man  was  quite  abashed  and  covered  with  embarrassment.  The 
incident  finally  wound  up  with  expressions  of  regard  and  esteem  for 
Frederick.  Nor  was  that  all.  All  the  stage-coach  passengers  alighted 
at  Ma^on,  and  the  German  invited  the  student  to  breakfast  with  him. 
It  was  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption,  and  Ozanam  declined  with  thanks. 
He  went  instead  to  the  nearest  Church  to  receive  Holy  Communion 
on  his  mother's  feast  day  !  It  was  yet  another  cause  for  astonishment 
to  hear  Ozanam,  on  being  brushed  against  by  a  little  Italian  scrubbed 
boy,  speak  to  the  little  stranger  in  his  own  tongue.  This  young  French 
gentleman  then  spoke  three  languages  ! 

It  is  some  30  miles  from  Magon  to  Lyons.  There  was  no  diligence 
running  on  that  particular  day,  so  Ozanam  went  part  of  the  journey 
on  foot,  and  got  a  lift  for  the  rest  of  the  way.  He  arrived  at  the  Rue 

Pisay  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening "  They  were  all  there  for 

mama's  feast,  and  were  disappointed  at  my  late  arrival.  Father, 
mother,  brothers,  cousins,  male  and  female,  were  all  there  ;  I  leave  you 
to  picture  for  yourself  the  joy  of  our  meeting." 

Madame  Ozanam,  though  somewhat  improved,  still  bore  disquieting 
traces  of  her  illness  :  ultra  sensitiveness,  feverish  energy  in  the  practice 
of  good  works,  angelic  virtue  and  benevolence  in  a  never-ending 
struggle  with  a  weakly  and  nervous  constitution.  "  I  am  very  uneasy 
about  her  for  the  coming  winter,"  wrote  Frederick  to  Lallier.  "  If 
you,  my  dear  friend,  have  two  places  for  me  in  your  prayers,  give  one 
to  my  mother,  and  the  other  to  me.  If  you  have  but  one,  let  my  mother 
have  it.  To  pray  for  her  is  to  pray  for  me.  It  may  be  that  my  salva 
tion  is  bound  up  with  her  preservation  in  this  world." 

The  City  of  Lyons,  which  Ozanam  had  found  in  the  preceding 
vacation  still  bleeding  from  the  wounds  caused  by  the  insurrection 
of  1834,  did  not  present  any  more  cheerful  appearance  on  his  return 
from  Paris  in  August  1835.  The  dread  of  cholera  hovered  over  the 
city.  "  Advancing  towards  our  gates,"  he  wrote  on  the  23rd  of 
September,  "  the  dreaded  plague  ascended  the  Rhone  to  within  ten 
miles  of  our  city,  driving  before  it  multitudes  of  refugees,  whose  frenzied 


io8  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

accounts  added  to  the  terror  of  our  impressionable  inhabitants.  While 
the  brutish  crowd,  on  the  one  hand,  prepared  for  riots  and  looting,  a 
large  religious  congregation  beseiged  Notre  Dame  de  Fourviere,  and 
knelt  in  the  open  air  upon  the  bare  ground  to  chant  the  penitential 
psalms." 

He  adds  on  this  occasion,  "  God  has  for  the  second  time  glorified 
His  Blessed  Mother  and  consoled  our  poor  city  ;  the  hand  which 
threatened  to  crush  us  was,  for  the  second  time,  extended  to  bless  us. 
The  name  of  Notre  Dame  de  Fourviere  no  longer  brings  a  sneer  to 
the  lips  of  the  impious  man,  who  cannot  help  thinking  that,  possibly 
he  owes  his  life  to  her  protection." 

The  whole  vacation  felt  the  influence  of  that  state  of  things  :  "  The 
dread  of  cholera  has  chilled  everybody,"  he  wrote  to  Paris.  "  We 
are  isolated  and  barbarous  :  no  friendly  dinners,  no  picnics  in  the 
country."  Ozanam  indulged  in  a  trip,  which  was  also  a  pilgrimage,  to 
great  and  holy  places.  For  the  rest  he  occupied  himself  with  writing, 
which  was  to  result  in  his  first  work  on  history  and  religious  literature. 
Such  were  the  holidays  of  1835. 

The  only  outstanding  event  was,  therefore,  an  excursion  into  the 
Dauphiny,  where  he  visited  the  more  beautiful  spots  with  his  brother, 
the  priest,  "  his  angel  guardian,"  as  he  calls  him  !  The  trip  was 
completed  with  the  ascent  of  the  Chartreuse  Peak  and  a  stay  at  the 
grand  monastery  for  two  days  and  a  night.  I  pass  by  his  enthusias 
tic  description  of  "  those  cloud-capt  heights  and  fathomless  abysses," 
the  remains  of  gigantic  upheavals  which  are  a  symbol  grander  than 
the  spectacle  itself.  "  A  frightful  disorder  and  tremendous  upheaval 
to  reach  Heaven — efforts  that  are  powerless  but  unceasing — is  not 
that  the  image  of  life  and  of  the  human  soul  ?" 

What  then  did  he  see  in  this  solitude  ?  "  Nature,  which  he  is  at  a 
loss  to  describe,  and  men,  whom  he  cannot  imitate.  What  did  the 
monastery  show  him  ?  Sixty  eight  monks,  elevated  above  the  thoughts 
and  desires  of  human  beings  ;  a  lonely  nest  where  souls  grow  in  holiness 
under  the  shelter  of  religion  to  wing  their  way  to  Heaven." 

There,  above  matters  and  men,  the  saving  prayer  is  heard.  "  I  was 
present  at  matins  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night  in  their  solitary  chapel. 
I  listened  to  that  choir  of  sixty  innocent  voices,  and  thought  of  all  the 
crime  that  was  being  committed  in  our  great  cities  at  that  hour.  I 
asked  myself  if  there  were  really  sufficient  expiation  to  blot  out  such 
stains,  and  I  recalled  the  just  men,  for  whose  sake  God  would  have 


TWO   ENGLISH   CHANCELLORS  109 

granted  safety  to  Sodom.  Hope  then  returned  to  my  heart  bringing 
with  it  sweet  memories  which  will  ever  dwell  with  me  and  mayhap  help 
to  encourage  me  in  the  days  of  darkness.  It  may  even  be,  that  a 
virtuous  inspiration  will  spring  from  it  which  will  one  day  make  me 
better." 

When  the  fortnight's  trip  was  finished,  Ozanam  did  not  again  quit 
his  feeble  mother.  It  was,  as  he  himself  tells  us,  by  her  side,  and 
under  her  eyes  that  he  wrote  the  moral,  historical,  and  critical  essay 
entitled,  Two  English  Chancellors.  This  work  appeared  in  single 
articles  in  the  Revue  Europeenne,  pending  publication  in  a  permanent 
form,  which  was  to  be  the  revelation  of  the  workman  in  his  first  great 
work.  From  this  point  of  view  it  is  worthy  of  attention. 

Literature  had  claimed  him  for  her  own  after  his  Licentiateship 
in  Law  and  prior  to  his  Doctorate.  Not  literature  for  its  own  sake, 
but  literature  devoted  to  the  demonstration  of  the  moral  ascendancy 
of  Christianity  over  the  human  conscience.  If  this  beautiful  historical 
work  shows  the  prentice-hand  of  an  eloquent  scholar,  it  is  already  the 
work  of  a  powerful  apologist,  who  demonstrates  the  influence  of  religion 
by  the  contrast  of  two  portraits  ;  these  are  juxtaposed  and  establish 
the  thesis  by  contrast.  The  thesis  represents  Christianity  as 
the  centre  from  which  Art,  History,  Literature  and  Science  are 
illuminated.  The  introduction  places  this  thought  before  us  in  one 
of  his  most  beautiful  passages  : 

"  We,  who  were  born  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church,  and  who  have  been 
nourished  by  its  teaching,  find  its  traces  at  all  times  and  in  all  places. 
We  love  the  humanity  of  filial  love,  but  in  it  we  see  and  cherish  the 
Church  above  all,  through  whom  and  by  whom,  all  that  there  is  in 
humanity  is  made  pure  and  great.  We  plunge  freely  into  the  regions 
of  science,  and  we  inevitably  find  some  one  of  those  fundamental 
religious  truths,  which  we  had  been  taught  when  we  were  young.  We 
fix  our  gaze  on  those  monuments  which  were  raised  throughout  the 
centuries  by  the  hand  of  man  ;  and  ever  in  their  foundations  we  find 
some  medal  struck  with  the  divine  effigy.  We  cannot  breathe  the 
air  of  the  world  without  drinking  in  somewhat  of  the  perfume  of  our 
sanctuaries.  Amid  the  din  of  clashing  systems  and  of  struggling 
powers,  our  ears  retain  the  distant  murmuring  of  sacred  chants.  When 
we  stand  at  the  foot  of  the  statues  of  great  men,  our  thoughts  follow 
their  natural  bent,  leading  to  the  altars  of  our  saints." 

Such  is  the  disposition  of  Ozanam's  mind  and  heart  when,  coming 


no  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

in  the  course  of  his  historical  studies  to  the  beginning  of  the 
century,  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with  one  of  the  greatest  geniuses 
of  modern  times,  Bacon,  Lord  Verulam,  Chancellor  of  England 
under  Elizabeth  and  James  I.  But  this  great  mind  presents  a  debased 
and  abject  character,  a  slave  to  his  own  fortune,  which  cast  him  into 
depths  of  ignomony  that  cause  the  historian  to  blush.  Ozanam  is 
shocked,  and  retreating  into  the  Middle  Ages,  finds  another  English 
Chancellor  under  Henry  II.,  Thomas  a  Becket,  Archbishop  of  Canter 
bury.  There  is  a  courtier,  transformed  by  religion,  and  the  grace  of 
his  sacred  position,  into  a  man  of  God,  faithful  unto  heroism,  sublime 
unto  martyrdom.  In  these  two  characters  Ozanam  finds  the  repre 
sentation  of  the  rationalist  and  of  the  Christian  principle.  In  the 
one,  reason  enthroned  in  its  highest  powers  of  understanding,  in  the 
other,  faith  exposed  to  the  rudest  and  most  violent  persecution.  He 
then  said  to  himself :  "  Let  us  contrast  these  two,  a  great  man  and  a 
saint,  to  learn  in  which  is  human  nature  elevated  to  the  highest  degree 
and  crowned  with  the  greatest  glory.  We  shall  thus  investigate 
which  of  the  two  principles,  philosophy  or  religion,  is  the  more  fruitful 
in  virtue  and  in  greatness."  Such  is  the  monument  which  the  young 
conscript  of  scarce  22  years  proposes  to  raise  to  the  glory  of  the  Gospel. 
Ozanam  notes  in  his  correspondence  the  difficulties  and  the  amount 
of  research  which  this  study  in  contrasts  imposed  on  the  conscientious 
historian.  But  he  also  lets  us  know  amid  what  tender  loving  care 
he  found  his  relaxation.  "  There  were  entire  days  when  nothing 
was  clear,"  he  writes,  "  and  when,  unable  to  write  a  single  line, 
I  spent  hours  and  hours  with  my  mother  and  my  little  brother, 
playing  at  being  once  more  a  child,  and  thus  forgetting  my  difficult 
trade  of  writing." 

He  found  another  refuge  at  the  feet  of  another  mother,  the  Virgin 
of  Fourviere,  to  whom  the  great  English  martyr  was  also  devoted. 
"  Having  gone  to  Fourviere  twice,  I  knelt  before  the  altar  of  St.  Thomas 
of  Canterbury.  I  asked  him,  with  all  the  little  fervour  that  I  could 
command,  to  help  me  in  a  task  undertaken  in  his  glory."  The  pro 
scribed  saint  had  dwelt  in  Lyons  during  the  period  of  his  misfortunes, 
and  had  described  it  as  follows  :  "  I  have  heard  it  said  that  men  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  Saone  are  freer  than  elsewhere  !  I  shall  go  there 
on  foot  with  one  of  my  own  people.  Perhaps  when  they  see  our 
affliction,  they  will  take  pity  on  us  and  will  give  us  the  necessaries 
of  life,  until  God  shall  have  provided  for  us." 


THOMAS  A  BECKET  AND  BACON         in 

That  beautiful  appreciation  of  those  two  characters  concludes  with 
these  lines  :  "  You  have  now  before  you  two  great  figures.  Rationalism 
has  made  one,  Catholicism  the  other.  It  is  for  you  to  see,  to  which 
of  the  two  systems  you  wish  to  deliver  your  soul."  All  is  contained  in 
the  following  prayer,  a  strophe  to  the  immortality  of  the  hero  who  was 
sacrificed  for  the  Christian  Law  :  "  For  six  hundred  years,  one  hundred 
millions  of  Catholics  venerate  with  respect  and  love  the  memory  of 
that  Bishop  of  other  times.  When,  in  solemn  supplication,  we  repeat 
the  long  Litany  of  Saints  then,  Oh  !  Thomas  of  Canterbury  !  you  also 
we  invoke,  and  you  we  salute  with  the  most  beautiful  title  in  the 
language  of  men  ;  we  call  you  martyr  !" 

When,  in  the  following  Spring,  M.  de  Coux,  former  editor  of  the 
Revue  Europeenne,  published  in  book  form  this  first  production  of  his 
young  collaborator,  he  hesitated  to  praise  too  warmly  one  so  near  to 
him.  "  But,"  he  adds,  "  we  must  in  justice  state  that  serious  study, 
original  research,  a  spirit  instinct  with  Catholic  truth  will  be  found 
herein.  That  is  sufficient  in  our  opinion  to  ensure  the  sympathy  of 
the  critical  public,  whom  we  are  addressing,  for  the  young  author,  who 
is  willing  to  devote  himself  to  the  serious  and  responsible  task  of 
defending  religion,  and  who  brings  to  that  work  all  the  talent  he 
possesses." 

That  was  more  praise  than  Ozanam  wished.  When  he  regarded  the 
volume,  he  found  it  trivial  in  comparison  with  a  charitable  work  which 
Paul  de  la  Perriere  had  brought  to  completion.  He  told  himself,  to 
his  own  confusion,  that  a  good  deed  was  worth  more  than  a  good  book. 
He  wrote  as  follows  :  "  While  I  was  dragging  myself  over  these  poor 
pages,  de  la  Perriere  finished  a  Church  in  his  suburb  and  had  it  blessed. 
He  thus  obtained  the  benefits  of  religious  instruction  and  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  for  several  hundred  people,  who  now  gain  for  him  in  return 
numberless  graces.  How  much  better  actions  are  than  words,  and  how 
I  am  ashamed  of  my  role  of  scribbler,  which  I  fill  so  badly  !  However, 
I  hope  that  all  my  work  will  not  be  barren.  It  cannot  be  altogether 
for  nothing  that  I  have  come  into  close  contact  with  such  a  great 
saint,  and  entered  in  a  measure  into  his  mind  and  life.  I  hope  that 
those  recollections  will  not  be  altogether  useless  to  me  in  the  battle 
of  life." 

After  four  months  and  a  half  of  industrious  holidays,  Ozanam 
mentioned  his  return  to  Paris  in  the  following  lines  to  de  La  Noue, 
dated  the  23rd  November,  1835  :  "  I  am  to  set  out  in  a  week.  This 


II2  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

year's  stay  will  be  my  last  and  my  time  will  be  wholly  occupied  in 
hard  preparation  for  the  Degrees  of  Doctor  of  Laws  and  Doctor  of 
Literature  ....  But  we  shall  not  be  strangers  to  one  another.  For 
that  I  rely  upon  the  genius  of  friendship.  Good-bye  my  dear  poet ; 
remember  me  in  your  thoughts,  in  your  flights  of  fancy,  and  in  your 

prayers." 

What  was  calling  him  to  Paris  was  undoubtedly  the  study  necessary 
for  the  development  of  his  thesis  for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws, 
but  it  was  above  and  beyond  all  tiis  own  special  work,  the  work  of 
charity,  which  he  had  so  lately  declared  to  take  precedence  over  that 
of  science. 

In  order  the  better  to  work,  he  wished  to  live  during  1835-36  with 
Lallier,  Secretary-General  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  just 
as  he  had  done  the  preceding  year  with  Le  Taillandier,  who  was  now 
back  in  Rouen.  He  wrote  to  Lallier  as  follows  on  the  i6th  November  : 
"  I  expect  to  leave  Lyons  any  time  between  the  25th  inst.  and  the 
3rd  prox.  In  Paris  I  shall  have  to  find  furnished  lodgings.  You 
will  have  to  do  the  same.  Could  we  not  rent  a  little  flat  together  ? 
Wait  for  me  if  it  is  at  all  possible.  Loneliness  would  be  fatal  to  my 
peace  of  mind  :  my  imagination  tyrannises  over  me.  When  alone,  I 
always  seem  to  have  some  demon  by  my  side.  In  the  company  of 
Christian  friends  I  feel  at  once  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  of  Him 
who  has  undertaken  to  be  wherever  they  are  gathered  together  in  His 
Name.  We  would  live  as  brothers  ;  I  would  ask  you  to  mortify  my 
untameable  self-love  ;  we  should  endeavour  to  grow  better  together. 
We  would  be  able  to  link  up  our  works  of  charity,  to  develop  our 
plans  for  the  future.  We  would  mutually  support  one  another  in 
our  dejection,  console  one  another  in  our  sadness  and  affliction." 

Since  they  had  come  to  understand  each  other  better,  Ozanam  and 
Lallier  found  themselves  more  and  more  in  accord.  Many  circum 
stances  tended  to  bring  them  together.  Lallier  was  but  a  year  younger 
than  Ozanam,  and  his  father  also  was  a  doctor  in  Joigny.  One  of  his 
uncles  was  the  president  of  a  legal  tribunal  in  the  city  ;  another  uncle, 
a  priest,  professor  in  the  same  place,  afterwards  Rector  of  the  Royal 
College  of  Orleans,  later  Canon,  and  Vicar  General  of  Sens,  had  become 
renowned  as  a  lecturer  on  the  Humanities  in  the  University.  He  was 
also  well  known  as  an  episcopal  administrator  among  the  clergy. 
Francis,  their  nephew,  was,  like  Ozanam,  a  thorough-going  Christian. 
Two  friends  of  his,  Lamache  and  de  la  Perriere  thus  describe  him  : 


THE   RULE  OF  THE  SOCIETY  113 

•"  Ozanam  represented  daring  initiative,  precocious  knowledge,  en 
gaging  and  winning  frankness,  the  charm  of  beautiful  thoughts  and 
elevated  sentiments.  He  was  easily  with  us,  primus  inter  pares. 
Lallier  came  second  ;  he  had  a  strong  character,  extreme  kindness, 
sound  common  sense,  more  reason  than  imagination,  more  solidity 
than  brillancy.  His  demeanour  was  reserved,  even  cold,  but  beneath  it 
he  had  a  warm  heart,  melting  in  close  friendship  into  extreme  tender 
ness.  He  was  as  serious  as  a  judge,  and  this  characteristic  joined  to  a 
simple  and  affectionate  cordiality  gained  for  him  among  us  the  title 
of  Father  Lallier." 

It  had  come  to  this  with  Ozanam,  that  he  could  not  get  on  without 
him,  longing  for  his  approval  and  his  affection.  The  same  letter 
admits  that  with  humility  :  "  How  egotistical  I  am  !  You  know 
how  often  in  Paris,  I  practically  begged  for  your  praise,  evoking  ex 
pressions  of  your  treasured  friendship.  For  example,  you  told  me 
one  evening  that  you  would  pray  for  me  by  name.  Those  words  are 
engraven  on  my  heart  .  .  .  .  " 

"  We  shall  link  up  our  Associations  of  Charity,"  Ozanam  had  written. 
It  was  a  serious  moment  for  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  The 
four  Conferences  in  Paris,  St.  fitienne  du  Mont,  St.  Sulpice,  St. 
Philippe-du-Roule,  Notre-Dame  de  Bonne  Nouvelle,  were  all  in  com 
plete  touch  with  each  other.  Then  the  Society  extended  beyond 
Paris.  We  have  seen  M.  Leonce  Curnier  establishing  it  in  Nimes. 
The  young  painter,  Janmot  had  carried  it  to  Rome,  where  Claudius 
Lavergne  joined  him.  Ozanam  had  himself  sown  the  first  seed  in 
Lyons  soil,  which  we  shall  see  blooming  amid  thorns  and  bearing 
abundant  fruit.  The  general  expansion  of  the  Society  in  the  different 
cities  of  France  could  already  be  anticipated ;  the  young  Christian 
students,  who  were  members  of  Parisian  Conferences,  were  bringing 
them  back  with  them.  The  time  had  come  to  link  them  together 
into  what  Ozanam  called  a  fraternal  Confederation,  which  should 
have  its  Rule,  its  Law,  and  which  would  at  the  same  time,  maintain 
Paris,  whence  it  had  sprung,  as  the  centre  of  the  family  circle. 

The  Rule  was  drafted  with  piety  and  prudence  by  Messieurs  Bailly 
and  Lallier,  who  worked  at  it  during  the  vacation  of  1835.  M.  Bailly 
placed  it  before  the  First  General  Meeting  of  Brothers,  which  took 
place  on  the  2ist  February,  1836.  He  drew  attention  to  the  fact, 
that  the  Rule  was  based,  not  on  theory,  but  on  the  actual  practice  of 
the  already  existing  Conferences,  and  that  it  had  been  agreed  upon  by 


U4  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

them  before  the  subdivision  of  the  first  Conference  took  place.  The 
Introduction,  written  by  him,  is  altogether  inspired  by  the  sermons 
and  writings  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  It  is  instinct  with  the  spirit  of 
the  humility,  unity,  and  charity  that  ought  to  reign  among  Brothers, 
as  well  as  with  a  sense  of  duty  to  ecclesiastical  authority.  The  law 
giver  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  is  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
himself. 

The  Rule  proper,  drawn  up  by  Lallier,  Secretary  General,  bears  date 
in  the  Manual  of  the  Society,  December,  1835,  exactly  the  time  when 
Ozanam  had  returned  to  Paris  and  resumed  his  place  beside  his  friend. 
His  hand  is  not  visible  anywhere,  but  can  his  spirit  have  been  a 
stranger  to  it  ?  It  opens  thus  :  "  Here,  at  last,  is  the  commencement 
of  the  written  constitution  for  which  we  have  so  long  wished."  It 
closes  thus  :  "  Courage,  then  !  Together  or  separated,  near  or  far, 
let  us  love  one  another ;  let  us  love  and  serve  the  poor.  Let  us  love 
this  little  Society,  which  has  made  us  known  to  one  another,  which 
has  placed  us  on  the  path  of  a  more  charitable  and  more  Christian 
life.  Let  us  love  our  practice,  let  us  love  our  Rule :  if  we  keep  it 
faithfully  it  will  keep  us  and  our  Society.  Much  evil  is  being  done, 
said  a  holy  priest,  let  us  do  some  little  good  !  Oh  !  how  glad  we  shall 
be  that  we  did  not  leave  empty  the  years  of  our  youth.  Youth  is  a 
field  which  must  be  cultivated,  let  us  look  around  and  gather  the  ears 
that  lie  at  our  feet.  This  sheaf  will  be  a  provision  for  our  whole  life, 
blessed  as  it  will  have  been  by  Our  Lord." 

Ozanam's  printed  letters  for  the  year  1836  are  only  three.  He 
excuses  himself  on  the  ground  of  the  double  work  of  this  final  year. 
He  declares  himself  so  overwhelmed,  that  he  almost  despairs  of  ac 
complishing  it.  "  Time  recedes  and  leaves  me  stranded.  It  is  in 
sufficient  to  satisfy  the  just  demands  of  study  and  of  friendship." 

He  wrote  the  same  year  to  his  younger  brother  :  "  You  are  beginning 
to  know,  my  dear  brother,  how  hard  the  business  of  a  young  man  is. 
Formerly  it  was  war,  to-day  it  is  examination.  There  are,  without 
question,  periods  of  work  which  are  as  hard  as  any  campaign.  For 
five  months  in  1836-37  I  worked  regularly,  not  counting  lectures,  ten, 
and  in  the  last  month  fourteen  to  fifteen  hours  a  day.  Prudence  is 
necessary  to  avoid  injuring  one's  health,  but  the  constitution  gets 
used  to  it  by  degrees."  Did  Ozanam  ever  exercise  that  '  Prudence ' 
in  his  own  regard  ? 

On  the  3oth  April,  1836,  Ozanam  maintained  with    honour   his 


DOCTOR  OF   LAWS  115 

two  theses  for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  The  subjects  were,  in 
Roman  Law  De  Interdictis,  in  French  Law  De  la  Prescription  a  I  effet 
d'acquerir.  Very  few  students  in  those  days  went  as  far  as  the 
Degree  of  Doctor,  which  alone  conferred:  the  privilege  of  lecturing 
advanced  classes  in  a  Faculty.  Ozanam  was,  one  day,  to  benefit 
by  that. 

He  did  not  give  way  to  ecstasies  at  his  success.  What  was  ordinarily 
the  first  rung  of  the  ladder  for  others,  was  for  him  the  hangman's  noose. 
As  Doctor  of  Laws,  he  belonged  definitely  henceforward  to  the  Bar, 
to  the  Court,  to  the  career  from  which  he  shrank.  It  was  for  it  that 
he  would  be  obliged  to  renounce  for  ever,  his  profession,  his  apostolate 
of  Literature  :  Literature  to  which  his  childhood  and  his  youth  had  been 
dedicated,  to  which  he  had  given  so  many  solemn  pledges,  and  which 
in  return  had  brought  him  such  noble  and  holy  pleasure.  Writing 
for  God,  speaking  for  God  !  I  regard  the  day  after  the  examination 
for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  as  one  of  the  saddest  days  in  Ozanam's 
life. 

Listen  to  his  terror  at  his  return  to  Lyons  :  "  I  am  leaving  Paris. 
What  shall  I  do  in  Lyons  ?  They  wish  me  to  plead.  Am  I  then  to 
be  confined  within  the  narrow  limits  of  a  court  ?  That  will  be  very 
hard  on  me.  My  dear  friend,  is  this  distaste  for  Law  mere  pride  ?  Is 
this  love  for  higher  study  a  vocation  ?  Is  it  an  inspiration  from 
on  high  or  a  temptation  from  below  ?  Is  all  that  I  have  written  and 
•done  for  the  last  five  years,  reason  or  madness  ?" 

It  is  of  God  Himself  that  he  asks  humbly  as  a  child  :"  My  dear  friend, 
pray  that  God  may  deign  to  answer  the  questions  which  I  ask  of  Him 
daily  !  I  seem  to  be  resigned  to  His  holy  will,  no  matter  what  humble 
part,  what  painful  task  He  assigns  to  me.  But  only  that  it  be  known 
to  me  !  That  I  may  no  longer  be,  as  I  have  been  for  the  last  five  years, 
divided  against  myself,  that  is  to  say,  weak,  powerless  and  useless." 

At  other  times  he  accuses  himself.  Doctor,  he  is  indeed :  but  is  he 
as  learned  as  he  ought  to  be  and  could  have  been  ?  Barrister,  Jurist, 
he  will  be.  But  will  he  occupy  the  rank  he  could  have  taken  ?  "  Ah  !" 
he  confessed  about  this  time,  "  if  I  had  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
study  of  Law,  the  gifts  which  God  has  given  me,  and  the  five  years 
stay  in  Paris  which  my  parents  have  afforded  me,  I  should  have  been 
.able  to  win  a  place  at  the  Bar,  which  I  cannot  now  hope  to  attain. 
All  those  thoughts  agitate  and  torment  me.  The  necessity,  in  which 
I  find  myself  placed,  of  taking  up  a  definite  career,  oppresses  me.  I 


ii6  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

am  afraid  of  causing  bitter  disappointment  to  my  dear  parents,  and 
you  know  how  well  they  deserve  to  be  loved  !" 

As  to  the  possibility  of  dabbling  in  Literature  as  a  pastime,  that  is 
not  to  be  thought  of.  "  No,"  he  protests,  "  my  nature,  my  mind,  my 
heart  revolt  against  that  arrangement.  The  passion  kindled  by 
Literature  would  have  all  my  life,  all  my  soul  to  itself  alone.  Thus 
I  am  face  to  face  with  the  choice  of  abandoning  one  or  other  career, 
as  I  cannot  adopt  both.  But  how  can  I  make  up  my  mind  to  bid  fare 
well  to  Literature,  that  exacting  muse,  who  is  making  me  pay  so  dearly 
for  companionship  ? 

Then  again,  if  he  feared  Lyons,  he  regretted  Paris.  Instead  of  leav 
ing  immediately  after  his  Law  Degree,  he  remained  on  up  to  the 
vacation.  That  was  primarily  for  the  necessary  preparation  for  the 
Degree  of  Doctor  of  Literature,  which  was  the  only  way  out  of  the 
cruel  impasse.  He  was  also  retained  by  all  kinds  of  bonds,  of 
religion,  of  friendship,  and  of  charity.  Thus,  he  had  written  earlier: 
"  I  desire,  undoubtedly,  to  be  with  my  parents.  It  seems  to  me  that 
they  need  me  ;  I  feel  that  I  need  them.  Notwithstanding  that,  it 
will  be  hard  on  me,  it  will  be  cruel  for  me,  to  leave  the  place  of  my 
exile,  to  bid  farewell  to  those  who  have  made  it  tolerable  for  me,  and 
to  forego  the  fraternal  gatherings  that  nothing  can  replace." 

Those  fraternal  gatherings  were  the  meetings  of  the  Society  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  its  feasts  and  pilgrimages.  He  again  invited  one  of 
his  friends,  Gustave  de  La  Noue,  living  at  Auteuil,  to  another  such 
meeting  at  Nanterre  on  the  nth  June  :  "  I  shall  see  you  in  a  few  days. 
In  the  meantime  a  group  of  your  friends  will  meet  on  next  Sunday,  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  your  place,  to  take  part  in  the  procession  of 
Nanterre.  Come  and  join  them,  my  dear  La  Noue.  Come  and 
pass  a  few  moments  of  joy  and  love  with  us.  Come  and  cast  the 
incense  of  your  thoughts  in  the  path  of  Our  Lord  and  Saviour." 

Lallier  was  not  to  be  with  him  :  "  You  know,"  he  wrote,  "  how  hard 
it  will  be  on  me  not  to  have  you  with  me  this  year.  Let  our  thoughts 
often  fly  to  each  other,  let  us  write,  advise  and  sustain  each  other. 
I  think  that  you  may  stand  in  need  of  it  for  you  are  human  :  but  my 
need  will  be  still  greater  ....  Good-bye,  my  dear  Lallier  !  May  it 
not  be  long  till  I  see  you  again  !" 

There  was  also  in  that  city  his  dearest  and  most  honoured  master, 
who  kept  him  there.  He  passed  away  about  that  time.  The  world- 
renowned  Andre  Marie  Ampere,  whom  Ozanam  called  his  second 


DEATH  OF  AMPERE 

father,  departed  this  life  in  Marseilles  on  the  loth  June,  at  the  age  of 
sixty  3'ears.  It  was  the  eve  of  the  day  on  which  Ozanam  had  dis 
patched  his  pious  letter  to  de  La  None. 

Ozanam 's  consolation  lay  in  the  fact  that  he  had  assisted  that  great 
man  with  his  pen  to  the  very  end,  as  the  following  affectionate  letter, 
dated  the  loth  September,  1835,  testifies  :  "  My  excellent  friend," 
Ampere  wrote  him,  "how  shall  I  adequately  express  my  gratitude  to 
you  for  your  article  to  which  I  attach  inestimable  value  ?  My  grati 
tude  shall  last  as  long  as  I  live." 

The  death  of  the  great  Christian  was  precious  in  the  sight  of  God. 
To  those  who  enquired  after  his  health,  he  replied  :  "  My  health  ! 
My  health  !  What  a  question  to  ask  !  Nothing  is  of  importance 
now  but  eternal  truth  !"  Ozanam  tendered  his  homage  on  the  tomb 
of  his  fatherly  friend ;  in  the  first  place  to  that  religious  spirit 
which  had  made  him  at  once  so  good  and  so  great  !  "It  was  beautiful 
to  examine  closely  what  Christianity  had  wrought  in  his  great  soul, 
begetting  there  a  wonderful  simplicity,  the  modesty  of  a  genius  which 
knew  the  value  of  everything  but  itself  ;  an  affable  and  engaging  charity; 
benevolence  to  all,  but  especially  to  young  men."  .  .  .  Ozanam  again 
addressed  him,  and  for  the  last  time,  as  his  second  father. 

He  grieved  long  for  him,  in  sad  company  with  his  son  whom  he  re 
minded  in  a  letter  a  year  later  :  "  Dear  Sir  and  friend,  I  remember  well 
one  day  that  you  visited  me  in  my  little  apartment.  Our  eyes  were 
wet  with  tears.  I  told  you  of  my  eagerness  to  return  to  my  own 
family,  and  profit  by  the  time  that  Heaven  would  deign  to  grant  to 
my  aged  parents.  With  your  experience  before  me,  I  shuddered  at 
the  thought  of  a  similar  misfortune." 

We  find  Frederick  in  Lyons  with  his  parents  at  the  end  of  the  month 
of  July,  1836.  That  city  entered  into  possession  of  her  child  for  four 
years.  During  that  period  he  often  turned  his  eyes  and  his  thoughts 
to  that  sweet  "  exile  in  Paris,"  which  had  given  him,  he  said,  the  five 
fairest  and  happiest  years  in  his  life.  About  two  years  after  their  close 
he  drew  the  following  charming  picture  in  a  letter  to  Lallier,  dated  I7th 
May,  1838  :  "  You  cannot  think,  my  dear  friend,  what  an  inexpres 
sible  charm  the  little  scenes  of  our  student's  life  possess  for  me,  when 
I  see  them  idealised  in  the  twilight  of  the  past.  The  evening  gather 
ings  at  M.  Gerbet's,  where  we  first  met  and  which  had  an  element 
of  the  mystic.  The  historical  and  philosophical  debates  into  which  we 
introduced  such  keenness,  and  in  which  our  success  was  freely  pooled. 


!i8  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

The  little  charitable  gatherings  in  the  Rue  du  Petit-Bourbon-Saint- 
Sulpice,  the  first  of  which  I  insist,  was  held  in  the  month  of  May,  no 
matter  what  Lamache  says.  The  famous  evening  when  after  being 
present  at  the  breaking-up  of  the  Academy  of  St.  Hyacinth,  we  re 
turned  and  drew  up  the  petition  to  Monsignor  de  Quelen.  The  un 
expected  visit  which  we  paid  in  fear  and  trembling  to  the  Archbishop, 
where  we  made  a  bold  assault  and  whence  we  departed  so  excited. 
The  first  addresses  of  Lacordaire  at  Stanislaus  College ;  his  triumph 
at  Notre  Dame,  in  which  we  had  some  share.  The  editing  of  the 
Revue  Europeenne  in  M.  Bailly's  rooms.  The  vicissitudes  of  the 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  The  famous  meeting  at  the  end  of 
December,  1834,  where  the  question  of  sub-division  was  discussed, 
at  which  Le  Taillandier  wept,  and  La  Perriere  and  I  handled  each 
other  roughly  in  debate  and  which  terminated  in  a  shake  hands  and 
best  wishes  for  the  New  Year.  Then  the  Christmas  midnight  feast, 
the  Corpus  Christi  processions  ;  the  honey-suckle  which  bloomed  so 
beautifully  on  the  Nanterre  road  ;  the  relics  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
borne  on  our  shoulders  to  Clichy.  Then,  again,  so  many  kind  actions 
done  to  one  another ;  the  outpouring  of  the  heart  so  often  to  one's 
brother  ;  so  much  sound  advice,  so  much  good  example  ;  the  tears  shed 
in  secret  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  when  we  found  ourselves  together. 
Lastly,  the  walks  through  the  lilac  trees  of  the  Luxembourg,  or  on 
the  square  of  St.  fitienne  du  Mont,  when  the  light  of  the  moon 
silhouetted  the  three  great  buildings  !" 

"  All  that  became  for  me,  my  dear  friend,  the  background  of  my 
thoughts  ;  it  shed  a  dim  religious  light  on  my  present  existence.  Thus 
history  in  its  flight  becomes  poetry.  I  also  have  my  golden  age,  my 
heroic  and  legendary  cycles.  But  what  remains  ever  true,  what  has 
plunged  deepest  roots  not  only  into  my  imagination,  but  into  my 
affection,  are  the  friendships  formed  during  that  portion  of  my  life.  .  . 
Each  day  brings  me  some  new  assurance  of  that,  as  I  receive  a  letter 
from  you,  news  from  Lamache,  from  Le  Taillandier,  from  Pessonneaux 
and  from  other  friends.  That  translates  me  out  of  this  ignorant 
present.  If  it  were  not  ridiculous  to  use  such  an  expression  at  the  age 
of  25  years,  I  should  say  it  rejuvenates  me  !" 

He  wrote  in  the  same  strain,  though  in  somewhat  warmer  terms  to 
Le  Taillandier  about  the  2ist  August,  1837  :  "  My  dear  friend,  may  each 
one  of  us,  as  he  increases  in  years,  increase  also  in  friendship,  piety, 
and  zeal  to  do  good  !  May  our  whole  life  be  passed  under  the  patronage 


DEATH  OF  AMPERE  119 

of  those  to  whom  we  have  dedicated  our  youth  :  Vincent  de  Paul,  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  and  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.— Good-bye. 
I  shall  ever  love  you  dearly." 


CHAPTER   X. 
THE  LYONS  CONFERENCE, 

A  VISIT  TO  LAMARTINE. — FIRST  LYONS  CONFERENCE. — OPPOSITION  TO 
THE  CONFERENCE. — OZANAMJS  REPORT. — GROWTH. — CENTRE  FOR 
SOLDIERS. — e  TO  BE  SAINTS  IN  ORDER  TO  MAKE  SAINTS.' — LETTERS  TO 
LALLIER,  SECRETARY-GENERAL  OF  THE  SOCIETY 

1836 — 1838. 

Ozanam's  return  to  Lyons  after  five  years  spent  in  the  schools  of 
Paris,  filled  his  parents'  cup  of  happiness  to  the  brim.  He,  on  his  side, 
gave  himself  up  without  reserve  to  their  demonstrations  of  joy  and 
gladness.  The  parents'  joy  mainly  consisted  in  finding  Ozanam  un 
changed.  One  mother  wrote  of  him  :  "Ozanam  fulfilled  in  himself 
the  desire  which  he  had  expressed  for  so  many  other  young  men  ; 
to  return  unchanged  to  the  home,  loving  faith  and  purity  as  before, 
with  a  heart  fixed  in  the  affections  of  the  family,  loyal  to  duty  as  a 
Catholic,  and  determined  never  to  quit  the  narrow  path."  She  goes 
on  :  "  Those  who  have  felt  that  joy  alone  know  its  ineffable  sweetness, 
and  say  that,  of  all  the  favours  vouchsafed  by  Heaven,  there  is  scarce 
any  more  permanent  or  more  precious  than  it."*  Monsieur  and 
Madame  Ozanam  had  already  provided  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
coming  Barrister  at  the  Royal  Courts  of  Lyons.  But  they  were  yet 
four  months  from  the  opening  of  the  sittings.  Those  holidays  were, 
with  the  exception  of  an  excursion  which  we  shall  describe,  devoted 
by  him  to  the  foundation  of  the  first  Conference  of  the  Society  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  in  Lyons,  which  will  be  the  subject  matter  of  this 
chapter. 

The  interest  of  that  excursion  lies  in  the  meeting  which  Ozanam, 
his  brother,  and  a  friend,  M.  de  Maubout,  had  with  M.  de  Lamartine. 
They  were  returning  from  a  visit  to  the  ruins  of  Cluny  Abbey,  when 

*  Frederick  Ozanam  d'aprds  sa  correspondance  by  Madam  Edouard  Humbert,  a 
Protestant  lady  from  Geneva. — A  handbook  of  84  pages,  Paris  and  Geneva,  1880. 


LAMARTINE  121 

they  were  met  and  stopped  by  the  great  man,  who  invited  all  three 
to  dine  with  him  at  his  place  at  Monceaux.  The  Abbe  reports  that 
the  dinner  party  was  large  and  distinguished.  The  Deputy  for  Saone- 
et-Loire  affected  to  decry  philosophy  and  literature  in  favour  of  politics 
as  the  dominant  influence  of  the  times  and  of  men.  Ozanam  joined 
in  the  conversation  quietly  and  respectfully.  He  so  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  distinguished  company  by  the  elevation  of  his  thought 
and  the  refinement  of  his  language,  that  his  name  had  to  be  com 
municated  to  them. 

Ozanam  barely  mentions  that  meeting  to  Lallier :  "  I  had  two 
charming  trips  with  my  elder  brother :  one  to  St.  fitienne,  where  I 
saw  miracles  of  industry,  the  other  in  the  Macon  and  Beaujolais  coun 
try,  where  I  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  M.  de  Maubout,  the  society  of 
M.  de  Lamartine,  beautiful  autumn  weather,  and  a  population  that  is 
remarkable  for  their  astonishing  fidelity  to  the  faith  and  to  Catholic 
practices."  The  student  had  already  mentioned  in  a  letter  to  his 
mother  during  the  year  the  desire  of  that  great  man  of  letters  to  be 
above  all  else  a  great  man  of  State  :  "  I  paid  a  visit,"  he  wrote,  "  to 
M.  de  Lamartine's  house.  He  was  surrounded  by  politicians  and 
scarcely  spoke  to  me."  They  no  longer  spoke  the  same  tongue. 

The  quasi-defection  of  the  poet  from  religion  had  been  the  occasion 
of  a  melancholy  communication.  Ozanam  unburdened  his  grief  to 
his  friend  Dufieux  in  the  following  terms  :  "  But  lately  we  listened 
in  the  Meditations  and  the  Harmonies  to  the  melodious  murmurings 
of  Christian  poetry.  However  filled  with  self -complaisance,  it  presumed 
to  be  able  to  communicate  directly  with  God,  needing  neither  inter 
preter  nor  temple.  It  has  stopped,  to  oar  dismay,  half  way  on  the 
road  to  truth." 

The  shallow  soul  seemed  at  that  time  to  rest  on  deism  and  rational 
ism.  The  Church  should  speak  out :  "Two  recent  literary  events," 
Ozanam  writes  during  the  same  vacation,  "  have  filled  me  with  vexa 
tion.  I  mean  the  placing  on  the  Index  of  Lamartine's  Jocelyn  and 
the  publication  of  Lamennais'  Paroles  d'un  Croyant." 

That  is  his  cause  for  sorrow  ;  but  it  is  a  sorrow  not  without  strength. 
That  strength  I  admire  in  its  outspoken  adhesion  to  the  spirited  action 
of  the  Holy  See,  as  well  as  in  the  following  splendid  profession  of  Roman 
Catholic  faith  :  "  Rome,"  he  wrote  to  Lallier,  "has  shown  its  courage 
in  striking  down  the  first  and  greatest ;  it  is  scarcely  likely  to  fear  the 
second.  She  does  not  fear  the  opposition  of  genius,  for  she  has  on 


122  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

i  I  *' 

her  side  what  is  more  than  genius,  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  constant  source 
of  inspiration.  But  it  is  irritating  to  see  genius  solemnly  deserting 
and  passing  into  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  A  useless  desertion, 
because  in  abjuring  faith,  it  abjures  the  source  of  its  glory  and  strength, 
a  two-fold  cause  of  grief  for  those  who  loved." 

Ozanam  remained  one  of  "  those  who  loved  "  :  "  We  have  often 
heard  our  brother  say,"  witnesses  the  Abbe  Ozanam,  "  that  time  and 
trials  would  bring  back  the  poet  of  the  Crucifix  to  his  mother's  faith 
and  piety." 

Lamartine  showed  for  his  part  that  few  others  would  have  been 
so  well  qualified  to  make  straight  the  path  of  his  return  as  the  young 
savant  of  whom  he  wrote  later  in  his  Cours  familier  de  Litterature  : 
"  That  young  man,  whom  I  have  not  ceased  to  like,  resembled  in 
appearance,  in  mind,  in  the  serenity  of  his  gaze,  in  the  regular  and 
affectionate  chant  of  his  voice,  a  Christian  Brahmin — the  similarity 
is  curious — preaching  the  Gospel  of  Science  and  Peace  to  our  dis 
tracted  world.  He  believed,  as  I  did,  that  truth  was  more  powerful 
over  the  heart  than  over  the  mind.  His  dogma  shimmers  with  grace, 
as  the  sunrise  and  sunset  of  the  East  are  bathed  in  dew.  An  atmosphere 
of  tenderness  towards  others  enveloped  him  .  .  .  His  orthodoxy, 
perfect  for  himself,  was  perfect  charity  for  others.  It  softened  all 
asperities.  Although  my  philosophy  was  no  longer  the  same 
as  his,  the  difference  did  not  separate  our  minds  nor  later  our 
personal  relations.  It  was  possible  to  differ,  it  was  not  possible  to 
quarrel,  with  this  man  who  entertained  no  bitterness  :  his  toleration 
was  not  condescenion,  it  was  respect." 

In  such  eclipses  and  such  failures  Ozanam  beheld  the  danger 
of  the  Church  betrayed,  the  faithful  scandalised,  the  young  men  un 
settled,  and  he  was  heard  to  say,  "  Who  will  fill,  my  dear  friend,  the 
place  which  those  two  men  have  left  vacant  ?  Who  among  us  will 
come  and  sit  in  the  empty  chair  of  our  Tertullian  ?  Who  will  be  bold 
enough  to  take  up  the  lyre  from  the  dust  and  complete  the  hymn  ? 
I  know  that  God  and  the  Church  do  not  need  poets  or  doctors  ;  those 
who  do  need  them  are  the  weak  in  belief,  whom  these  defections 
scandalise  ;  they  are  those  who  do  not  believe,  and  who  despise 
our  poverty  of  intellect.  It  is  we  ourselves  who  need  occasionally 
to  see  at  our  head  greater  and  better  men,  to  lead  the  way,  and  to 
encourage  and  strengthen  us.  We  young  Christians  cannot  hope 
to  take  the  place  of  such  men.  But  can  we  not  make  up  in  quantity 


THE  LYONS  CONFERENCE  123 

what  we  lack  in  quality,  and  by  our  very  numbers  fill  the  gap  which 
they  have  left  in  our  ranks  ?" 

As  a  set  off  the  same  letter,  under  the  same  date,  the  5th  November, 
1836,  mentions  an  event  which  brought  consolation  :  "  I  have  worked 
somewhat  during  the  holidays  on  the  organisation  of  our  little  St. 
Vincent  De  Paul  Conference."  This  casual  but  valuable  reference, 
enables  us  to  fix  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  the  Lyons  Conference. 

About  one  month  later,  on  the  4th  December,  Ozanam  reported 
as  follows  to  the  Council  of  Paris  :  "  Several  young  men,  who  had  been 
members  of  the  Society  in  Paris,  finding  themselves  home  in  Lyons 
after  their  course  of  studies,  remembered  those  friends  who  had  helped 
to  make  their  exile  in  the  metropolis  easier.  They  called  to  mind  the 
happiness  which  they  had  experienced  in  seeking  to  do  some  little  good 
together,  and  to  avoid  a  great  deal  of  evil.  Everything  impelled  them 
to  re-knit  bonds  which  had  just  been  severed.  As  the  result  of  a  quite 
natural  meeting  they  founded  here  a  Conference  of  Charity  on  your 
model." 

The  first  meeting  had  been  held  on  the  i6th  August.  It  was  small. 
Soon  the  accession  of  others,  who  also  had  been  members  in  Paris, 
raised  the  number  to  13.  Six  young  men  in  the  city  asked  per 
mission  to  join,  three  more  were  introduced.  There  were  then  22 
members  "  companions  in  alms  and  prayers,"  all  imbued  with  the 
primitive  spirit  of  the  Society ;  a  spirit  of  faith  and  piety,  of 
corporal  and  spiritual  charity  towards  the  poor,  of  recruitment 
of  young  Lyons  students  in  Paris  :  "  They  will  return  trained  by  you, 
bringing  back  with  them  the  sacred  fire,  which  you  will  have  kindled." 

Twenty  families  were  adopted  and  visited  in  their  homes  :  "  The 
visited,  as  well  as  the  visitors,  edify  one  another,  living  in  the  unity 
and  under  the  shelter  of  the  mantle  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul." 

This  letter  was  read  at  the  General  Meeting  in  Paris  on  the  8th 
December.  "On  the  same  day  that  you  are  celebrating  the  festival, 
we  shall  be  gathered  at  the  altars  of  the  same  God,  at  the  feet  of  the 
same  Immaculate  Mother  of  God,  we,  the  children  of  the  city  that  was 
the  first  to  honour  her  Immaculate  Conception  with  public  worship." 
In  concluding  the  letter,  Ozanam  pays  a  tribute  to  M.  Bailly  as  Pre 
sident-General  "  the  father  who  had  been  the  guardian  angel  of  their 
youth  in  the  Metropolis,  and  whose  wisdom  and  prudence  he  and  his 
friends  now  miss." 

Ozanam's  feelings  of  gratitude  for  that  great   and  good  man  are 


124  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

more  clearly  exhibited  in  one  of  his  early  letters,  in  which  he  recom 
mended  to  his  kind  services  a  young  Lyons  student  who  was  going 
to  Paris  to  study :  "  To  whom,"  he  asks,  "  could  I  better  recommend 
him  than  to  you,  who,  with  good  M.  Ampere,  exercised  such  a  moral 
influence  over  me,  you,  whom  many  mothers  are  blessing,  because  you 
safeguarded  their  son's  religion?  If  you  think  well  of  it,  you  could 
gradually  induce  him  to  join  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul." 

He  adds  :  "  From  this  on,  many  of  these  young  Lyons  men  will  come 
to  you,  these  children  of  the  city  of  the  martyrs.  We  have  already 
a  number  here  who  are  experiencing  the  benefit  of  your  advice  and 
example  ;  we  are  doing  our  best  to  procure  the  same  advantages  for 
the  generation  whose  elders  we  are.  That  will  be  one  of  the  principal 
aims  of  the  Conference  in  our  city,  in  union  with  the  Society  in  Paris. 
Our  branch  is  newly-born,  but  it  is  alive.  It  is  weak,  but  it  can  become 
strong  by  preserving  the  bonds  of  unity  with  the  parent  Society. 
It  needs  that,  were  it  only  to  overcome  the  difficulties  here  from  good 
people  who  are  timid." 

"  Help  us  then  to  grow,  to  multiply,  to  become  better,  gentler, 
stronger,  for  as  days  increase  in  number,  evil  is  added  to  evil  and  dis 
tress  to  distress.  The  political  question  is  giving  way  to  the  social 
question,  a  struggle  between  poverty  and  wealth,  between  the  sefish- 
ness  which  seeks  to  take,  and  that  which  seeks  to  keep.  Terrible, 
indeed,  will  be  the  clash  of  those  two  egoisms,  if  charity  does  not 
intervene,  if  she  does  not  mediate  with  all-powerful  love  between 
the  poor  who  have  the  strength  of  numbers,  and  the  rich  who  have 
the  strength  of  gold.  With  such  merciful  ends  in  view  it  is  not 
surprising  that  Providence  inspired  you  to  found  our  Society,  nor 
that  it  has  developed  under  your  auspices." 

Ozanam  was  able  to  acquaint  the  General  Quarterly  Meeting  on 
the  Feast  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  in  the  month  of  July,  that  the  young 
Conference  had  increased  the  number  of  its  members  to  40,  who  were 
visiting  70  families,  etc.  Their  numbers  had  been  doubled  in  eight 
months.  The  President  added  :  "  Nobody  will  be  missing  from  this 
spiritual  feast.  We  shall  be  all  there  together,  under  the  eyes  of  St. 
Vincent  De  Paul  our  father,  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  our  Mother,  and 
-  of  Jesus  Christ  our  God." 

The  Conference,  though  altogether  lay,  had  powerful  support  among 
the  clergy.  Several  Cures  were  attached  to  it,  the  Cure  of  St.  Pierre 
in  particular ;  and  above  all  the  Vicar-General,  who  was  guardian  of 


DIFFICULTIES    IN    LYONS  125 

the  Catholic  Associations  in  the  diocese.  To  crown  all,  words  of  ap 
probation  and  benediction  had  fallen  from  the  venerable  lips  of  Arch 
bishop  Pins,  diocesan  administrator,  taking  the  place  of  Cardinal  Fesch. 

Yet  Ozanam  wrote,  "  There  need  not  be  any  illusion  ;  the  Society 
has  been  distrusted  on  all  sides.  We  have  just  read  of  '  the  difficulties 
here  from  good  people  who  are  timid/  ' 

The  Bulletin  for  the  year  1837  indicates  the  causes.  The  Society 
did  not  originate  in  Lyons,  and  moreover  it  originated  in  Paris  ;  its 
novelty  "in  a  city  not  less  attached  to  traditional  institutions  and 
practices  than  to  its  faith  and  morals";  finally,  the  routine  piety 
of  many,  who  were  naturally  suspicious  and  blindly  zealous. 

Ozanam  in  his  account  of  his  difficulties  to  his  confreres  in  Paris, 
describes  the  traditional  simplicity  of  the  meetings,  the  blind  prejudices 
opposed  to  them,  and  the  Christian  methods  with  which  those  straight 
forward  and  peaceful  young  men  met  them  :  "  We  meet  every  Tuesday 
evening  at  eight.  There  is,  just  as  in  Paris,  a  plain  table,  a  green  cover, 
two  candles,  tickets  for  provisions,  old  clothes,  etc.  Neither  the  room 
nor  the  purse  is  well  filled.  We  have  met  some  difficulties  which 
we  had  foreseen.  Good  people,  even  serious  people,  have  grown 
fearful.  They  exclaim  that  a  cabal  of  young  men,  who  succeeded 
in  imposing  Pere  Lacordaire  on  the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  wish  to  make 
themselves  masters  of  Lyons  ;  that  they  had  begged  all  the  Sisters 
of  Charity  in  the  city  to  furnish  them  with  lists  of  poor  families  ;  that 
they  were  at  least  thirty  in  number  ;  that  some  of  their  number  were 
not  even  Christians ;  that  they  would  discredit  all  other  Associations 
of  Charity  by  the  irregular  way  in  which  they  would  conduct  theirs, 
etc." 

"  Following  our  rule  we  have  humbled  ourselves ;  we  have  made 
clear  our  innocent  intentions,  our  respect  for  all  other  Associations 
of  Charity.  After  a  while  they  contented  themselves  with  saying  that 
we  would  not  succeed  ...  I  hope  that,  notwithstanding  their 
dismal  prophecies,  we  shall  succeed,  not  through  secrecy  but  through 
humility,  not  by  numbers  but  by  love,  not  under  patronage  but  under 
the  grace  of  God." 

Ozanam,  in  a  personal  letter  to  Lallier,  with  whom  he  was  more  at 
his  ease,  lets  himself  go  in  his  own  picturesque  style  on  the  subject 
of  "  these  lay  writers  of  orthodoxy,  patres  conscripti  in  frock-coats  and 
spats  ;  infallible  doctors,  who  pronounce  ex  cathedra  when  the  case 
is  finished;  provincial  puritans,  for  whom  everything  that  comes 


i26  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

from  Paris  is  anathema  ;  doctrinaires,  whose  political  opinion  is  for 
them  the  thirteenth  article  of  the  Creed,  forestallers  of  every  Associa 
tion  which  they  must  monopolise,  etc.  You  cannot  imagine  the 
pettiness,  the  gibes,  the  insults,  the  finnicking  and  the  finessing,  which 
these  good  people  have  used  against  us,  with  the  best  intentions  in 
the  world.  Chaurand  and  I,  as  the  principal  founders  and  directors 
of  the  Society  here,  have  been  constantly  on  the  defensive  ;  a  struggle 
which  has  wearied  us  greatly.  The  greatest  resultant  harm  is  a  little 
bitterness  of  spirit  which  always  remains  behind  ;  charity  necessarily 
suffers  from  such  wrangles.  Yet  we  cannot  avoid  them  in  the  interests 
of  the  Society  and  of  truth." 

Such  regrets  were  not  however  signs  of  discouragement,  as  the  rest 
of  the  report  shows  :  "  The  Conference  had  in  1837  increased  the  number 
of  its  members  to  50,  of  whom  35  attended  regularly."  The  December 
report  stated  "  The  severity  of  the  season  procured  a  welcome  for 
us  everywhere,  and  plenty  of  aid  from  the  Christian  population  here ; 
faith  among  the  poor  ;  treasures  of  joy  and  of  resignation  for  ourselves. 
In  the  business  of  Charity  the  expenditure  is  small  and  the  profit  great." 

Owing  to  the  growth  of  membership  and  the  distance  between 
different  parts  of  the  city,  the  Conference  decided  to  sub-divide  : 
one  for  the  north  side,  another  for  the  south  :  one  in  the  Parish  of  St. 
Pierre,  the  other  in  the  Parish  of  St.  Francis.  Seventy-five  fami  ies 
were  visited  :  "One  rescued  from  proselytising  influences,  an  infant 
baptised,  several  men  led  back  to  the  Sacraments,  showed  our  Brothers 
that  divine  grace  had  not  been  wanting  to  our  feeble  efforts." 

The  principal  special  work,  and  one  very  appropriate  to  the  spirit 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  was  a  Club  or  meeting  place  for  the  soldiers 
of  the  many  garrisons  in  the  city.  "A  good  priest  of  the  diocesan 
missionary  house,  situate  in  the  centre  of  a  number  of  barracks, 
taking  pity  on  so  many  poor  neglected  men,  asked  our  co-operation 
in  their  salvation.  A  house  was  selected.  A  library  of  500  volumes 
was  installed.  In  five  months  268  soldiers  came  to  a  healthy  source 
for  instruction.  Books  were  lent  and  circulated,  and  more  than  one 
thousand  readers  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  this  institution." 

"A  school  was  added  to  the  library.  Twice  a  week  lessons  in  reading, 
writing,  and  arithmetic  were  given  by  the  Brothers.  Thus,  by  multiply 
ing  the  points  of  personal  contact,  confidence  was  reposed  on  one  side 
and  good  advice  imparted  on  the  other.  A  little  meeting,  which  we 
hope  will  increase,  takes  place  on  Sundays,  to  listen  to  an  instruction 


SPECIAL  WORK  FOR  SOLDIERS  127 

from  a  priest,  and  to  say  night  prayer  in  common."  Ozanam  men 
tions  the  fruit  !  "  We  have  learned  much  in  our  frequent  interviews 
with  soldiers.  We  should  never  have  believed  that  so  many  noble 
hearts  beat  beneath  the  uniform,  or  that  so  many  preserved  a  tender 
attachment  to  their  mothers'  faith  and  their  sisters'  example." 

M.  Bailly  said,  in  answer  to  Ozanam  :  "  I  handed  your  letter  on  the 
Special  Work  for  Soldiers  to  the  Archbishop.  He  was  much  affected 
by  it.  It  is  indeed  a  beautiful  mission.  Try  and  write  again  before 
the  loth  December  next,  when  we  come  together  again.  Ozanam 
wrote  before  that :  "  We  should  be  very  glad  to  see  established, 
first  in  Paris,  later  elsewhere,  something  on  the  same  lines  as  we  have 
here,  in  order  that  our  good  soldiers  when  they  leave  here  will  find 
the  same  friendly  care  in  other  garrison  towns."  .  .  .  He  indicated 
a  zealous  priest,  vicar  of  St.  Valere,  close  by  the  Invalides,  as  one  very 
suitable  for  the  work. 

Let  us  state  here  that  the  following  year's  report  showed  progress  in 
each  of  the  two  Conferences  as  well  as  in  their  special  works.  They  had 
succeeded  in  procuring  medical  aid  for  the  sick  from  young  doctors  in 
the  Society,  and  free  distribution  of  medicine  from  two  chemists  of 
the  districts  :  "  We  hope  that  in  thus  ensuring  material  help,  it  will 
be  possible  to  ensure  at  the  same  time  spiritual  improvement.  It  is 
extraordinary  what  wonderful  metamorphoses  a  pious  doctor  can 
bring  about  at  the  death-bedside." 

The  same  report  mentioned  conversions  due  to  the  Sunday  evenings' 
instruction  to  the  soldiers.  The  seed  which  had  been  sown  would 
germinate  sooner  or  later.  That  depends  in  a  great  measure  on  our 
selves.  "Ah  !"  exclaimed  Ozanam  "  who  could  measure  results  if 
our  piety  were  more  lively  and  we  were  less  anworthy  of  our  voca 
tion  ? — Ordinary  Catholics  are  plentiful  enough,  everywhere  ;  we 
need  saints.  How  make  saints  without  being  ourselves  holy  ?  How 
preach  to  unhappy  people  about  virtues,  in  which  they  are  richer  than 
we  ?  We  must  indeed  admit  with  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  that,  in  that, 
they  are  our  superiors.  "  The  poor  of  Jesus  Christ  are  our  lords  and 
our  masters,  said  the  saint,  and  we  are  unworthy  to  render  them  our 
poor  services  !" 

The  solicitude  of  the  absent  founder  was  unceasingly  directed  on 
Paris,  the  headquarters  and  centre  of  the  Society.  Ozanam  wrote  to 
Lallier,  Secretary-General,  the  right-hand  man  of  the  venerable  Presi 
dent,  reminding  him  of  his  responsibility.  His  chief  obligation  was 


I28  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

to  keep  the  Conferences  in  touch  with  one  another,  and  with  Paris, 
their  common  centre  of  light  and  heat.  "  It  is  a  poor  thing  to  increase, 
if  unity  be  not  maintained  ;  the  centre  must  be  kept  in  touch  with  the 
circumference  by  regular  chords  !  Our  little  Society  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  has  become  sufficiently  large  to  be  regarded  as  providential, 
and  it  is  not  for  nothing  that  you  hold  an  important  position  in  it. 
Make  no  mistake  about  it,  Secretary-General,  you  are,  after  M.  Bailly, 
the  main-spring  of  the  Society.  On  you  depends  the  unity  of  Con 
ferences,  and  on  that  unity,  the  vigour  and  life  of  the  Society." 

Ozanam  mentioned  specifically  the  means  by  which  that  was  to  be 
accomplished.  The  first  in  importance  was  the  President-General's 
Address  to  Conferences,  attached  to  the  annual  report.  The  report 
sets  forth  the  activities,  the  President-General's  Address  recalls  the 
spirit,  the  rule,  the  aims  and  object  of  the  Society.  It  was  indeed 
with  the  year  1837  that  Lallier  inaugurated  the  series  of  Addresses 
of  the  Council-General  which  have  contributed  so  much  to  widen 
and  deepen  the  river  of  Christian  charity,  flowing  to  the  very  ends  of 
the  world  :  "  We  now  begin  with  you,"  said  the  first,  a  correspondence 
which,  to  us,  will  be  indeed  most  delightful.  You  know  that  one 
thing  especially  supports  and  strengthens  us  in  this  world — it  is  the 
thought  of  having  near  us  friends  on  whom  we  can  rely  for  advice 
and  example.  The  individual  who  has  friends  lives  a  dual  life,  and 
so  do  charitable  societies  when  other  branches  arise." 

In  addition  to  this  chief  duty,  the  Secretary-General  was  to  be 
regularly  present  at  special  meetings  ;  to  meet  Presidents  from  time  to 
time ;  to  keep  in  hand  the  meetings  of  the  Council-General ;  to  stimu 
late  occasionally  the  excessive  calm  of  the  President-General ;  not 
to  neglect  correspondence  with  county  Conferences  ;  to  insist  on  punc 
tuality  in  the  furnishing  of  reports.  Then,  in  conclusion  :  "  Now, 
my  dear  friend,  I  should  dearly  wish  to  have  a  few  hours'  chat  with 
you,  to  tell  you  hundreds  of  things  which  may  be  spoken  but  may 
not  be  written." 

He  scolds  him  at  times  :  "  Let  us  not  limit  too  narrowly  the  number 
of  Brothers,  or  the  length  of  the  meetings  ?  Why  may  not  the  active 
membership  of  the  Conferences  of  St.  £tienne  du  Mont  and  St.  Sulpice 
exceed  50  ?  Look  to  it.  It  is  your  privilege  and  duty,  by  virtue 
-of  your  seniority  and  responsibility,  to  make  new  appeals  from  time 
to  time  to  the  zeal  of  members,  not  departing  from  the  primitive  spirit, 
but  grafting  progress  on  tradition." 


ISOLATED  MEMBERS  129 

He  congratulated  and  thanked  him  frequently :  "  The  notification 
of  three  new  joint  meetings  which  you  have  held  of  Conferences  in 
Paris,  has  given  us  great  pleasure.  Let  us  not  reject  what  makes  for 
unity,  nor  place  difficulties  in  the  way  of  bringing  members  together  ! 
Continue  to  direct  the  Addresses  of  the  Presidents  to  those  points  most 
likely  to  interest  members.  .  .  If  you  only  knew  the  authority  of 
an  announcement  which  comes  to  us  from  Paris  !" 

He  was  searching  for  the  means  to  link  up  to  one  another  and  to  the 
centre  of  the  Society,  those  youthful  associates  whom  a  completed 
course  of  study  would  isolate  in  their  native  town  :  "  Where  a  Con 
ference  does  not  exist,  would  it  not  be  possible  to  unite  young  men  in 
prayer,  in  charity,  in  the  private  exercise  of  good  works  which  they 
could  report  by  correspondence  and  which  would  appear  in  the  annual 
report  ?  There  would  in  this  way  be  an  interchange  of  views,  of 
sentiments,  and  of  edification  from  all  parts  of  France,  wherever  the 
children  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  would  be  scattered.  The  Conference 
in  Paris  would  not  then  be  merely  a  resting-place  for  two  or  three  years, 
leading  nowhere,  and  you  would  not  have  to  lament  more  than  two 
hundred  associates  who  are  now  lost  to  us.  You  would  then  be  the 
summit  of  a  pyramid,  the  base  of  which  would  rest  on  the  four  corners 
of  the  country,  and  the  French  youth  of  the  igth  century  would  have 
erected  a  pleasing  monument  to  God  on  the  soil  desecrated  by  the 
youth  of  the  last  century." 

Ozanam  was  well  aware  how  weak  the  instruments  were  :  "  We  are 
as  yet  but  apprentices  in  this  divine  craft,"  he  writes  elsewhere.  "  Let 
us  hope  that  one  day  we  shall  become  skilled  and  useful  workmen. 
Then  in  our  several  spheres  we  shall  engage  in  friendly  rivalry  as  to 
who  will  do  the  most  good  and  best  instil  virfue.  When  you  will 
acquaint  us  with  your  success  we  shall  inform  you  of  ours.  Then  from 
every  part  of  France  a  harmonious  chorus  of  faith  and  love  will  ascend  ; 
in  praise  of  God." 

Those  letters  of  Ozanam  have  postscripts  for  his  former  poor  families 
in  Paris,  particularly  for  the  children :  "  If  you  see  M.  de  Kerguelen 
ask  him  to  remember  me  kindly  to  the  little  apprentices,  Marius  and 
Blondeau." 

The  most  important  matter  which  he  discussed  with  the  Secretary- 
General  was  fidelity  to  the  primitive  spirit  of  the  Society,  which  is  the 
spirit  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  Humility  is  the  first  virtue.  He  feared 
pride  more  than  opposition  ;  he  wished  for  obscurity  rather  than  pros- 


I3o  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

perity  for  the  Society :  "  I  agree  with  your  intention,"  he  wrote  "  of 
emphasizing  in  your  next  President's  Address  the  necessity  for  re 
maining  obscure.  It  would  be  well  to  lay  down  this  principle :  that 
humility  is  as  obligatory  on  associations  as  on  individuals  ;  and  to 
support  it  by  the  example  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  who  reprimanded 
a  priest  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Mission  for  calling  his  Association 
'  Our  Holy  Congregation.'  Our  guiding  rule  should  be  neither  to 
force  ourselves  on  the  public  gaze,  nor  to  conceal  ourselves  from  those 
who  may  wish  to  find  us." 

Ozanam  disapproves  "  of  pride  in  the  Society  which  under  the  cover 
of  a  feeling  of  esprit  de  corps,  produces  bombastic  reports  of  the 
great  deeds  of  Conferences  and  Brothers.  He  disapproves  of  addresses 
and  preachers  who  wish  to  do  us  a  service  by  crowning  us  with  laurels. 
He  congratulates  the  Society  on  having  been  able  to  disarm  envy  by 
discounting  itself :  "  It  was  prophesied  for  us  that  publicity  meant 
death  ;  it  is  to  our  obscurity  that  we  owe  our  life,  our  development, 
and  whatever  good  work  we  have  done  ;  thanks  to  it  we  have  been 
able  to  falsify  the  prophets  of  evil." 

It  was  indeed  the  gifts  of  wisdom  and  understanding  that  God  had 
given  to  the  young  Solomon,  whom  He  had  made  the  chief  of  His 
young  tribes  and  whom  He  had  chosen  as  the  rock  of  His  temple 
of  Charity.  The  same  letters  state  :  "  The  leaders  of  such  associations 
should  be  holy,  in  order  to  draw  down  God's  graces.  That  is  why  I, 
who  am  so  wicked  and  so  weak,  often  ask  myself  how  I  can  venture 
to  represent  such  a  large  number  of  good  young  men  !"  "  My  dear 
friend,  who  will  deliver  me  from  myself  unless  He  whom  we  ask  to 
deliver  us  from  evil  ?  Let  us  ask  together  and  we  shall  receive  ! 
For  myself  I  never  receive  Holy  Communion  without  praying  in  a 
special  manner  for  you.  Good-bye  !  We  shall  meet,  I  presume, 
next  Sunday,  at  the  rendez-vous  of  the  Holy  Eucharist." 

Meantime  Lallier,  having  also  obtained  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws  towards  the  close  of  1838,  and  having  practised  for  a  while, 
left  Paris  to  live  in  Sens.  First  a  post  as  auxiliary  Judge,  and  sub 
sequently  his  marriage  with  a  young  lady  of  the  city,  made  him  settle 
down  there  for  life. 

Ozanam,  too,  was  practising  at  the  Bar  for  a  year,  and  it  is  at  the 
Court  in  Lyons  that  we  next  find  him. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE    BAR. 

OZANAM'S  PREJUDICES  :  ABUSES. — DEFENCE  OF  THE  POOR. — HIS  FATHER'S 

DEATH. — BUSINESS  EMBARRASSMENT. — WORKS,  DeS  BieW  de  V  EgllSt. — 

Annals    of  the    Propagation    of  the   Faith. — THE    CASE    OF    THE 

ARCHBISHOP  OF  COLOGNE. 

1837. 

As  soon  as  the  Sittings  of  the  Royal  Courts  of  Lyons  opened,  Ozanam 
had  his  name  inscribed  on  the  register  of  Barristers  :  "  It  is  a  solemn 
act,"  as  he  wrote  on  the  5th  November,  "  and  being  solemn,  sad." 
What  made  the  adoption  of  a  profession  sad  for  him  was  that  it  meant 
a  farewell  to  the  profession  of  science  and  of  Literature  which 
had  charms  for  him,  and  from  which  he  parted  with  regret.  The 
latter  would  not  have  brought  him  more  wealth  or  honour ;  but  it 
would  have  contributed  more  to  the  honour  and  glory  of  God,  which 
was  what  the  soul  of  the  apostle  of  truth  looked  to  :  "  I  am  suffering," 
he  wrote  at  the  same  time,  "  from  an  uncertainty  of  vocation.  I  am 
to  see  the  stones  and  the  dust  of  every  walk  of  life,  but  the  flowers 
of  none.  The  Bar  especially  holds  less  and  less  attraction  for  me." 

He  felt  still  worse  about  it  after  he  had  discussed  matters  with  some 
business  people  in  Lyons.  That  brought  him  into  actual  touch  with 
the  seamy  side  of  the  profession.  He  again  became  a  prey  to  doubts 
and  misgivings.  We  shall  return  to  the  subject  only  for  the  purpose 
of  seeing  him  raise  himself  by  prayer  into  the  arms  of  God  :  "  Let  us 
pray  for  each  other,  my  very  dear  friend,  let  us  be  on  our  guard  against 
our  troubles,  our  griefs,  our  very  lack  of  confidence.  Let  us  walk 
simply  in  the  path  where  a  merciful  Providence  leads  us,  content  to 
see  the  stone  whereon  we  are  to  place  our  foot,  without  desiring  to  see 
the  length  or  the  windings  of  the  way." 


I32  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

The  experience  gained  by  practice  did  not  abate  his  prejudice 
against  his  profession,  it  rather  increased  it.  Certain  methods 
were  not  to  his  liking.  He  wrote  :  "  There  is  scarce  any  case,  no  matter 
how  good  it  may  be,  wherein  there  is  not  something  wrong,  and  in 
which  a  just  advocate  would  not  have  to  admit  a  weakness.  But  that 
is  not  the  way  in  which  the  case  comes  before  the  Court.  According 
to  the  Barrister,  his  client  cannot  but  be  right  in  all  his  allegations 
and  claims ;  on  the  other  hand  his  opponent  must  necessarily  be  a 
rogue  .  .  .  .  !  The  Bar  has  thus  grown  accustomed  to  invective, 
hyperbole  and  suppression,  which  even  the  best  members  employ, 
and  to  which  one  must  grow  accustomed  !"  Would  he  ever  be  able 
to  bring  himself  to  that  ? 

Then,  again,  he  was  shocked  at  the  insincerity  and  excess  with  which 
money  claims  were  made  :  "  It  is  a  practice  that  two  hundred  francs 
damages  must  be  sought  when  one  wants  fifty.  You  must  thunder 
against  your  opponent,  strike  him  down  and  beat  him  to  the  ground. 
If  you  express  yourself  in  terms  of  moderation,  that  is  a  weakness  by 
which  you  invite  defeat.  Your  colleagues  gibe  at  you,  your  client 
regards  himself  as  sold.  If  you  should  meet  one  of  the  Judges  outside 
who  tried  the  case  he  will  stop  you  to  tell  you  :  "  My  dear  young 
friend,  you  were  too  mild."  That  is  why  he  wrote  in  confidence : 
"  I  shall  never  get  acclimatised  to  the  atmosphere  of  chicanery." 

Without  assuming  the  role  of  either  censor  or  reformer,  the  young 
man  confided  to  his  friends  that  "  he,  at  all  events,  would  make  it  a 
practice  to  maintain  a  just  balance  between  plaintiff  and  defendant, 
seeking  to  justify  the  latter  without,  however,  wronging  the  former.'* 
He  would  not  ask  for  business,  nor  '  devil '  with  a  senior  who  would  be 
likely  to  give  him  business.  He  himself  would  select  his  own  cases 
so  as  to  be  the  champion  of  pure  justice.  \Vith  him  that  came  from 
the  promptings  of  conscience  rather  than  from  a  spirit  of  independence 
and  pride. 

He  did  plead  ;  and  one  of  his  first  addresses  displayed  those  lofty 
sentiments.  He  had  been  nominated  by  the  Judge  to  defend  a  prisoner 
who  was  too  poor  to  engage  counsel.  "  The  poor  man's  friend,"  his 
brother  relates,  "  placed  at  the  disposal  of  his  poor  client  all  his  ability, 
energy,  and  talent,  and  that  with  an  obvious  sincerity  which  his  voice 
betrayed.  The  Crown  prosecutor  had  the  bad  taste  to  pour  gentle 
ridicule  on  him,  suggesting  ironically  to  the  new  hand,  that  he  took 
himself  altogether  too  seriously  in  a  role  which  had  been  assigned  to 


ANTIPATHY  TO  THE  BAR  133 

him  through  pure  formality.  Ozanam  blushed,  not  for  himself  but 
for  his  opponent.  He,  in  his  turn,  stated  calmly  and  firmly  how  much 
amazed  he,  a  new  hand,  was  to  find  a  responsible  official  making  so 
little  of  the  dignity  of  the  Court.  Was  the  defence  of  the  poor  mere 
•comedy,  and  the  position  of  a  Judge  that  of  an  actor  ?"  The  judges 
smiled  approval.  One  of  them,  indeed,  shook  hands  with  the  young 
advocate  as  soon  as  the  Court  arose. 

Ozanam's  antipathy  to  the  Bar  explains  why  he  had  no  sooner 
entered  on  that  career,  than  he  was  looking  for  a  way  out.  On 
the  15 th  November,  1836,  he  confided  to  Janmot :  "  I  am  finding  that 
the  only  profession  open  to  me  is  the  Bar  ;  and  since  that  is  too  trying 
for  my  feelings  I  am  seeking  to  qualify  myself  for  another  career  to 
which  I  should  be  naturally  more  inclined.  I  mean  lecturing.  It 
is  not  at  all  improbable  that  a  Chair  of  Law  or  Literature  may  be 
established  here.  I  shall  try  to  be  ready  for  that.  At  the  moment 
I  am  busy  with  a  thesis  for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Literature,  for 
which  I  have  not  been  able  to  present  myself  this  year  owing  to  lack 
of  time,  and  for  which  I  shall  have  to  return  for  some  weeks  to  Paris." 

On  the  I2th  February,  1837,  these  views  on  a  Chair  of  Law  are  set 
forth  more  definitely  in  a  letter  to  M.  Jean  Jacques  Ampere  :  "  When 
leaving  Paris  last  year  I  acquainted  you  with  my  aversion  to  the  rough- 
and-tumble  of  business,  with  my  student's  dreams,  and  with  the  moral 
obligation  that  I  was  under,  to  return  to  my  parents  and  earn  my 
living  in  Lyons.  I  confided  to  you  the  suggestion  which  had  been  made 
to  me,  to  induce  the  Government  to  establish  a  Chair  of  Commercial 
Law  in  Lyons  and  to  nominate  me  for  the  Chair.  That  idea,  which 
would  have  been  very  daring,  if  it  had  originated  with  myself,  had 
occurred  to  and  been  supported  by  many  distinguished  people  in  our 
city.  Matters  now  seem  to  be  coming  to  a  head.  The  Lyons  Chamber 
of  Commerce  has  presented  a  petition  to  the  Ministry  of  Commerce 
which  is  to  be  communicated  to  the  Ministry  of  Education." 

J.  J.  Ampere  was  requested  to  support  the  petition  and  also  the 
nomination  of  Ozanam  for  the  Chair,  on  the  ground  that  the  great 
Ampere  would  certainly  have  done  so  if  he  had  lived  a  year  longer. 
"  As  the  representative  of  his  great  genius,"  added  Frederick,  "  you 
are  equally  for  me  the  representative  of  his  patronage.  I  am,  sir, 
your  most  obedient  servant,  while  awaiting  the  title  of  friend,  which 
you  have  been  pleased  occasionally  to  bestow  on  me." 

But  the  double  business  of  establishing  a  Chair  of  Law  and  of  nom- 


134  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

inating  a  lecturer  thereto  was  to  be  a  prolonged  affair.  Six  commissions 
were  appointed  successively  to  report  on  the  matter,  and,  notwith 
standing  great  influence  in  Paris,  it  was  a  full  two  years  before  it  was 
concluded.  During  those  two  years  Ozanam  made  a  special  study 
of  that  branch  of  Law  in  order  to  be  in  a  position,  when  the  time  came, 
to  do  credit  to  the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

He  continued  pleading  without  further  complaint.  "  My  life,"  he 
wrote  to  La  Perriere,  on  the  loth  March,  "  is  passed  between  inter 
mittent  study  and  irksome  work.  I  include  most  irreverently  under 
the  latter  head  the  occasional  cases  that  take  me  to  the  Court." 

A  prosecution  against  the  Lyons  Gazette  for  an  attack  on  the  King's 
Government  provided  him  with  an  opportunity  of  winning  unanimous 
approval  from  the  court.  He  brought  to  bear  on  the  argument 
lofty  considerations  of  history,  policy,  and  morality,  which  were  very 
highly  appreciated  :  "  I  have  been  greatly  complimented  on  my  ad 
dress.  My  poor  words  succeed  occasionally  in  winning  approval,  but 
never  a  verdict."  He  lost  his  case.  His  noble  flights  of  passionate 
eloquence  were  the  subject  of  much  comment  at  the  Assizes.  He  was, 
indeed,  an  orator  ;  but  his  client  was  convicted.  At  the  close  of  the 
sittings  in  1837  he  gave  the  following  resume  of  his  work  :  "  I  appeared 
some  twelve  times  ;  three  times  only  on  the  Civil  side  where  I  suc 
ceeded  on  each  occasion."  He  was  a  jurist. — "  Yes,  indeed,  my  dear 
friend,  pleading  is  not  without  its  charm  for  me  ;  but  fees  come  with 
difficulty,  and  the  relations  with  business  people  are  so  unpleasant, 
so  humiliating,  and  so  unjust,  that  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  develop 
them." 

One  day,  smarting  no  doubt  from  some  particular  incident,  he 
threw  off  this  satiric  denunciation,  which  would  be  quite  unjustifiable 
if  applied  to  the  Court  of  Lyons  generally,  ever  honourable 
in  the  matter  of  professional  etiquette  :  "  Justice,"  my  dear  friend, 
"  is  the  last  moral  refuge,  the  last  sanctuary  of  modern  society.  To 
see  it  surrounded  by  impurity  is  a  constant  source  of  indignation  to 
me.  This  Profession  upsets  me  too  much  ;  I  return  from  Court  every 
day  with  my  finer  feelings  outraged.  I  can  no  more  resign  myself  to 
see  evil,  than  to  suffer  it." 

He  came  back  to  the  subject  of  Literature  which  was  his  first  choice, 
his  last  and  great  hope  :  "  I  think  that  I  have  already  told  you," 
continued  the  letter  to  Janmot,  "  that  one  of  my  theses  for  the 
Degree  of  Doctor  of  Literature  is  on  the  philosophy  of  Dante,  whom 


DEATH  OF  HIS  FATHER  135 

I  admire  more  and  more.  Ah  !  my  dear  friend,  happy  are  those  who 
can  devote  themselves  to  the  pursuit  of  the  beautiful,  the  true,  and  the 
great,  freed  from  the  vulgar  need  of  providing  for  the  necessities  of 
daily  life  !" 

But  it  was  in  Paris  rather  than  in  Lyons,  that  he  would  be  able  to 
find  the  original  authorities  for  the  theses.  It  was  also  in  Paris  that 
he  could  best  push  on  the  matter  of  the  Chair  of  Commerce  in  Lyons. 
Were  not  his  friendships,  as  well  as  his  Conferences,  calling  him  thither, 
at  least  for  a  visit  ? 

He  went  for  three  months  in  the  Spring  of  1837  and  was  plunging 
with  delight  into  research  when  a  series  of  terrible  letters  reached 
him  :  "  His  father  was  dying  !"  On  the  12 th  May,  1837  the  good 
Doctor  Ozanam,  making  one  of  his  visits  to  the  bedside  of  his  poor 
clients,  stumbled  on  a  broken  stair  and  injured  himself  fatally.  In 
a  few  short  hours  he  was  no  more. 

There  was  then  neither  telegraph  nor  railway  between  Paris  and 
Lyons.  Lallier  accompanied  his  friend  on  the  i5th  May  in  sadness 
and  silence  to  the  stage  coach,  not  venturing  to  inform  him  of  the  death, 
which  he  had  learned  privately.  Frederick  spent  from  three  to  four 
days  on  the  journey  to  his  mother  and  brothers.  It  was  only  on 
seeing  their  tears,  and  in  his  mother's  arms,  that  he  learned  the  sad 
news  definitely  and  fully  understood  the  magnitude  of  his  misfortune. 

He  was  inconsolable.  He  confided  that  to  J.  J.  Ampere.  He  recalled 
the  day,  just  a  year  previously,  when  in  his  little  student's  room, 
both  wept  over  the  death  of  the  great  Ampere,  equally  dear  to  both. 
He  adds  :  "  It  is  on  me  that  the  hand  of  Providence  is  heavy  to-day. 
When  after  a  short  absence  I  arrived  in  Lyons,  in  answer  to  startling 
news,  my  father  had  passed  away.  I  shall  not  see  him  again  in  this 
life.  Those  who  have  not  had  the  experience  cannot  know  the  void 
which  the  loss  of  such  a  man  creates.  Such  love,  and  respect,  and 
homage,  was  offered  him,  that  in  his  own  family  circle  he  was  the 
visible  presence  of  the  divinity  ! 

"  My  father,"  he  continues  in  his  letter  to  Ampere,  "  had  not,  it  is 
true,  gained  any  honours  in  the  world  of  Science,  his  name  was  not 
renowned.  But  his  labours  and  his  virtues  won  love  and  esteem 
from  his  colleagues  and  his  fellow-citizens,  in  whose  service  he  died. 
He  was  not  known  to  you  ;  but  you  know  me,  his  son.  If  your  kind 
ness  found  something  not  unworthy  in  me,  it  was  from  him,  from  his 
counsel  and  from  his  example  that  it  came  to  me.  Your  kind  affection 


136  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

assures  me  that  we  shall  again  share  a  common  grief.     One  is  almost 
glad  to  suffer  in  such  company." 

In  speaking  to  those  who  were  more  religious  than  Jean  Jacques, 
it  is  his  father's  piety  that  he  loves  to  dwell  upon.  "It  is  a  great 
consolation  to  us,  my  dear  friend,"  he  writes  to  Curnier,  "  to  think 
that  my  father's  piety,  enlightened  in  later  days  by  a  more  frequent 
-use  of  the  Sacraments,  his  virtues,  good  works,  trials  and  dangers, 
have  smoothed  his  passage  into  the  Heavenly  Kingdom  ;  soon,  if  we 
are  found  deserving,  we  shall  find  him  in  the  eternal  home  where  death 
is  not.  The  more  the  number  of  our  dear  departed  is  increased  in 
that  invisible  world,  the  more  powerful  becomes  the  force  of  attraction. 
We  cleave  less  to  earth,  when  the  roots  by  which  we  were  attached 
have  been  broken  by  time." 

Then  a  reference  to  the  bond  of  friendship  and  prayer :  "  Is  not 
friendship,  my  dear  friend,  a  community  of  suffering  ?  ....  It  is  in 
the  presence  of  God  that  I  would  have  you  remember  my  trials  and  the 
needs  of  my  family  ;  He  alone  joins  the  distant,  consoles  the  absent, 
and  brings  those  together  again  whom  He  has  made  to  love  Him." 

As  Dr.  Ozanam  was  one  of  those  men  on  whose  shoulders 
a  household  rests,  his  disappearance  meant  the  collapse  of  everything. 
The  young  man  declared  that  in  his  isolation,  he  was  seized,  not  only 
with  grief  but  with  terror.  He  compared  himself  to  a  child  who  has 
been  suddenly  left  alone  in  an  empty  house  and  who  weeps  in  terror 
at  the  feeling  of  loneliness  and  weakness  :  "  It  is  true,"  he  says,  "  that 
my  mother  is  still  there,  that  she  encourages  me  by  her  presence  and 
blesses  me  with  her  hands  ;  but  she  is  prostrate  with  grief,  and  I  am 
tortured  with  anxiety  as  to  the  state  of  her  health."  His  brother,  a 
priest  on  the  mission,  was  fully  taken  up  with  his  ministry  ;  his  younger 
brother,  Charles,  was  only  twelve  years  of  age  :  "  And  I,"  wrote 
Frederick,  "  what  can  I  do  with  my  vacillating  and  timid  character  ? 
I  need  more  than  anything  else  to  have  better  men,  not  only  around 
me,  but  above  me.  I  need  intermediaries  between  my  pettiness  and 
the  immensity  of  God."  He  represents  himself  as  a  traveller  in  a 
storm-swept  plain,  who  sees  his  shelter  swept  away  and  who  finds 
himself  lost  under  the  infinite  span  of  the  heavens. 

The  responsibility  for  the  household  weighed  on  the  young  jurist. 
It  proved  very  troublesome.     "  Family  quarrels  alone  excepted,  we 
have  had  all  the  unpleasantness  of  an  administration  suit  in  which  a  , 
minor  is  concerned."    The  inventory  of  the  father's  small   estate"; 


FAMILY  DIFFICULTIES  137 

and  the  examination  of  his  accounts  showed  the  splendid  unselfishness 
of  that  great  heart.  "  I  owe  him  this  tribute,"  Ozanam  wrote  later, 
"  that  I  was  able  to  show  with  the  figures  before  me,  that  one- third  of 
his  professional  visits  were  made  to  known  poor  without  any  hope 
whatever  of  fees." 

The  administration  of  his  scanty  estate  did  not  long  leave 
Frederick  in  doubt  as  to  the  insufficiency  of  their  means  for  the 
necessities  of  a  family  who  had  lost  their  chief  source  of  income. 
Who  then,  if  not  himself,  could  make  up  the  deficiency  ?  Yet  the 
greatest  of  his  anxieties  was  for  his  mother's  health.  He  wrote  on 
the  igth  June  to  his  cousin,  Henri  Pessonneaux,  as  follows:—"  My 
dear  mother  is  in  constant  suffering  :  grief  is  eating  her  heart  out 
and  she  is  never  without  headache.  Yet  her  great  virtue,  exemplified 
in  her  resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  is  the  admiration  of  the  family. 
Happy  is  he  to  whom  God  has  given  a  pious  mother  !  But  why  is 
it  that  in  proportion  as  the  halo  of  sanctity  surrounds  with  increasing 
brilliancy  the  beloved  head,  the  shadows  of  approaching  death  grow 
deeper  ?  Why,  in  the  language  of  men,  is  perfection  synonymous 
with  completion  ?  .  .  .  My  dear  friend,  join  with  me  in  prayer 
that  my  mother  may  be  spared  to  me,  that  she  may  be  preserved  to 
my  brothers,  who  need  her  so  much  ;  that  this  house,  which  you  knew 
as  the  abode  of  domestic  happiness  and  affection,  may  not  be  thrown 
into  despair,  may  not  become  a  distracted  house  of  grief,  to  be  pointed 
out  to  men  as  an  example  of  the  vicissitude  of  human  affairs  ;  that  it 
may  not  become  a  source  of  scandal  to  unbelievers  who,  at  the  sight 
of  a  Christian  family  suffering  such  trials,  will  ask  insolently,  where 
is  the  God  in  whom  they  placed  their  hope  :  Ubi  est  Deus  eorum  ?  " 

"  As  for  me,"  adds  the  Christian,  "it  is  ever  in  Him  that  I  hope. 
I  am  determined  to  follow  His  directions  in  my  tangled  circumstances." 

One  of  the  consequences  of  his  father's  death  was  to  fix  him  per 
manently  in  Lyons,  near  his  mother,  by  the  side  of  his  young  brother, 
as  the  instructor  and  the  mainstay  of  the  family.  But  his  position 
must  supply  the  means  of  doing  all  that. 

His  profession  as  Barrister  was  almost  unproductive.  He  found 
himself  compelled  to  take  cheap  terms  for  a  'grind'  for  "  three  young 
men  who  are  too  grand  to  sit  at  the  desks  of  a  school."  He  was,  to 
his  intimate  friends,  obviously  at  close  quarters  with  poverty.  One 
way  out  alone  remained.  "  If  I  am  to  remain  with  my  mother  and 
brothers,  the  Chair  of  Commercial  Law  in  Lyons  can  alone  provide 


138  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

me  with  a  certain  and  honourable  position."  Therefore  he  was  again 
busy  interviewing  and  interesting  the  several  authorities.  But  it 
is  from  God  alone  that  he  expected  success,  and  it  was  to  His  affection 
as  Father  that  he  appealed  :  "  For  the  rest,  I  am  passive.  I  have  a 
kind  of  religious,  almost  superstitious  awe  for  the  actual  uncertainty 
of  my  future.  I  have  placed  all  in  the  hands  of  God  and  I  fear  to 
meddle  with  it." 

He  learned  more  and  more  to  kiss  and  to  adore  the  hand  of  Providence 
which  he  had  grasped.  Writing  on  the  5th  October  1837,  from  Pierre- 
Benite,  near  Lyons,  he  unbosomed  himself  to  the  sympathetic  heart 
of  Lallier,  giving  an  account  of  a  conversation  which  he  had  just  had 
with  a  man  of  God.  The  letter  concluded  with  a  description  of  a  clarion 
call  from  the  Gospel  sounded  by  the  priest,  which  startled  and  inspired 
him  : 

"  You  well  see,  my  dear  friend,  that  my  way  is  not  a  path  of  roses. 
Lately,  when  haunted  by  dark  forebodings,  and  dejected  by  constant 
meditation  on  my  interior  and  exterior  troubles,  with  my  head  in  a 
whirl,  and  utterly  incapable  of  thought  or  action,  I  saw  but  one  remedy 
for  my  too  great  trials,  viz.,  recourse  to  a  doctor.  To  the  doctor,  I  mean, 
who  holds  the  secret  of  moral  infirmity,  and  who  is  the  depositary 
of  divine  balsam  and  grace." 

Who  was  the  Lyons  priest  ?     He  does  not  mention  his  name. 

He  continues :  "After  I  had  unfolded  my  sorrows  with  unusual 
energy  to  the  man  of  charity  whom  I  call  "  father,"  what  reply  do 
you  think  he  made  ?  He  replied  in  the  words  of  the  Apostle  :  Gaudete 
in  Domino  semper,  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always.  Is  not  that  strange 
talk  ?  Here  is  a  poor  man,  who  has  incurred  the  greatest  of  all  mis 
fortunes  in  the  spiritual  order,  that  of  offending  God  ;  and  the  greatest 
of  all  misfortunes  in  the  natural  order,  that  of  becoming  an  orphan. 
His  mother  is  aged  and  ill ;  he  daily  watches  her  every  movement, 
her  every  look,  her  every  feature,  to  seek  to  know  how  long  she  will 
be  spared  to  him.  He  is  isolated  by  distance  or  death  from  many 
friends  to  whom  he  is  dearly  attached ;  a  still  sadder  separation  threatens 
him.  He  is,  in  addition,  overwhelmed  with  the  anxieties  caused  by 
an  uncertain  future,  and  with  daily  business  worries,  the  lightest  of  which 
even  gall  him.  If  he  relies  on  himself  he  finds  weakness  and  im 
perfection  ;  secret  humiliation  and  suffering  are  not  the  least  difficult 
to  bear.  Yet  he  has  been  just  told,  not  indeed  to  be  resigned,  not 
indeed  to  be  consoled,  but  to  rejoice,  and  to  rejoice  always :  Gaudete 


SUFFERING  AND  ACTION  139 

semper  \     It  needs  all  the  audacity  and  the  pious  insolence  of  Christian 
ity  to  speak  in  that  strain.     Yet  Christianity  is  right  !" 

The  last  words  of  the  letter  to  Lallier  are  a  call  for  mutual  encourage 
ment  to  become  more  grounded  in  confidence  and  stronger  in  work. 
"  Let  us  aid  one  another,  my  dear  friend,  by  example  and  advice. 
Let  us  strive  that  our  trust  in  grace  may  equal  our  distrust  of  nature. 
Let  us  be  strong  even  in  suffering,  for  weakness  is  the  malady  of  the 
times.  Let  us  remember  that  we  have  already  lived  a  third  of  our 
existence,  and  that  we  have  lived  by  the  goodness  of  others  ;  we  must 
live  what  is  left,  for  the  good  of  others.  Let  us  do  without  hesitation 
whatever  good  lies  at  our  hand." 

Strength  in  suffering,  strength  in  action;  suffering  and  action; 
interior  and  exterior  suffering  ;  charitable  and  literary  action,  which, 
assuaging,  consoling,  and  illuminating,  from  Lyons  stretches  out  to 
Paris,  nay,  even  beyond  Paris.— Such  is  Ozanam's  early  life  in  his 
own  home. 

We  are  able  to  depict  him  from  his  correspondence  alone  in  the  house 
wherein  he  is  kept  daily,  not  so  much  by  business  as  by  anxiety  and 
care  for  his  afflicted  mother.  "  I  am  alone  with  her.  My  young 
brother  is  at  College.  The  never-ending  missions  of  my  elder  brother 
keep  him  from  us  ;  it  may  be  that  the  designs  of  God  will  remove  him 
still  further  from  me.  The  failing  strength  of  my  mother  presents 
each  day  the  saddest  sight  possible.  Her  moral  strength  seems  to 
decrease  with  failing  sight.  Her  susceptibility  to  pain  increases  with 
interior  suffering,  which  is  easily  understood.  Thus,  instead  of  finding 
in  her  the  prop  which  I  now  need,  I  find  that  I  have  to  support  her 
mentally  and  physically." 

It  is  the  isolation  that  crushes  him  :  "  It  is,  above  all,  the  community 
of  thoughts  and  of  sentiments  that  I  miss,  sympathy,  intellectual 
encouragement,  and  moral  assistance  ;  those  are  the  privileges  of 
intimate  friendship  ;  their  absence  leaves  me  poor  indeed.  I  do  find 
them,  but  all  too  seldom,  in  our  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  The 
weekly  meetings  are  one  of  the  greatest  consolations  which  Providence 
has  left  me.  In  particular,  my  relations  with  Chaurand,  Arthaud, 
La  Perriere,  recall  to  me  the  best  days  in  Paris.  Our  Conferences  are 
holding  their  ground.  If  they  increase,  it  is  like  soil  reclaimed  from 
the  seas." 

Ozanam  pressed  Lallier  to  add  literary  activity  to  his  charitable 
action  by  the  publication  of  his  works  on  Social  Economy,  which  had 


I4o  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

been  well  received  by  the  Catholic  Press.  Lallier,  who  had  been  like 
Ozanam  a  regular  attendant  at  the  course  on  Economy  given  by  M. 
de  Coux,  remained  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  known  members  of  that 
school ;  he  had  not  ceased  to  study  that  science  when  he  adopted  Law 
as  his  profession.  Ozanam  had  written  to  him  as  early  as  1837  : 
"  Do  not  bury  your  talent  in  your  duties  as  father  of  a  family.  You 
owe  that  to  the  young  men  of  your  own  generation  who  are  looking 
for  the  fulfilment  of  the  early  promise  of  your  success.  You  owe  that 
to  your  friends  who  count  greatly  on  your  co-operation  in  preserving 
faith  and  morals  in  such  evil  times." 

He  himself  set  the  example.  We  need  only  refer  to  the  titles  of 
the  Apologetics  of  the  Lyons  period,  written  on  weighty  questions  of 
public  law  by  the  bedside  of  his  grief-stricken  mother.  He  spoke 
of  them  in  a  letter  to  Henri  Pessonneaux,  dated  I3th  June,  1837,  as 
follows  :—  "  While  awaiting  the  result  of  my  candidature  for  the  Chair 
of  Commercial  Law,  I  have  not  given  up  literary  work,  which  is  cer 
tainly  for  me  one  of  the  greatest  mundane  consolations."  What  his 
heavenly  consolation  was  we  have  just  seen. 

Church  Property,  is  the  title  and  the  subject  matter  of  a  study  in 
four  articles,  subsequently  enlarged  into  a  scholarly  brochure  of 
four  chapters. 

He  clearly  proves  that  the  origin  of  ecclesiastical  property  is  sacred, 
its  possession  inviolable,  its  use  beneficent.  He  shows  that  its  spolia 
tion  by  the  Revolution  was  not  only  a  crime  but  a  blunder,  for  that 
act  was  anti-political,  anti-social,  and  anti-humanitarian  in  the  highest 
degree.  There  are  many  pages  in  this  little  volume  which  could  be 
read  with  profit  to-day. 

Another  work,  first  published  in  the  September  and  October,  1837, 
issues  of  the  Univers  under  the  title  Origines  du  Droit  franf ais  (First 
Beginnings  of  French  Law),  was  a  vigorous  critique  of  a  contribution  by 
Michelet  on  the  came  subject.  Michelet  maintained  the  paradox 
that  it  was  Roman  Law  purified,  popularised,  and  enthroned  by  the 
Stoics  that  had  paved  the  way  for  Christianity.  The  error  was  gross. 
Roman  Law  was  as  cruel  as  Stoicism.  Christianity,  on  the  other  hand 
had,  by  its  influence,  demonstrable  from  the  first  century,  permeated 
the  despotism  of  the  one  and  the  proud  egotism  of  the  other  with  the 
spirit  of  justice  and  the  Charity  of  the  Gospel.  That  is  Ozanam's 
thesis,  demonstrated  with  an  amount  of  research  which  is  astounding 
in  such  a  young  author. 


RELIGIOUS  CONTROVERSY  141 

But  the  Michelet  whom  he  refuted,  the  Michelet  of  1837,  was  not  the 
headlong  spirit  who,  in  later  years,  used  to  wax  frantic  at  the  very 
mention  of  the  Church.  The  recent  Sorbonne  student  declared,  that  he 
could  not  forget  the  days  when  he  and  his  comrades  Idudly  applauded 
the  charming  wizard.  "  It  was  impossible  for  us,"  he  writes,  "  to  gaze 
without  emotion  on  the  brow  which  deep  study  had  wrinkled,  or  on 
those  locks  untimely  blanched.  We  shall  ever  remember  that  day 
when,  in  the  lecture  hall  of  the  Sorbonne,  we  listened  to  his  resonant 
voice  recounting  the  life  and  death  of  Joan  of  Arc  in  accents  that 
brought  tears  to  our  eyes." 

Was  that  all  ?  Pity  and  compassion  for  the  man,  with  some  hope 
of  his  return,  were  intertwined  with  literary  sympathy.  He  says  that 
"  he  was  interested  in  that  soul."  It  was  the  same  man  whom  he  had 
heard  apostrophising  in  one  of  his  lectures  the  Cross  of  the  Coliseum : 
"  Is  not  that  Cross,  which  becomes  every  day  more  salutary,  the  only 
refuge  of  a  religious  soul  ?  "  "  The  altar  has  lost  its  honours,  humanity 
is  drifting  away  from  it  by  degrees.  But  please  tell  me  has  he  erected 
another  altar  for  himself?"  He  had  heard  Michelet  recall,  "the 
emotion  aroused  by  our  Christian  feasts,  the  touching  sound  of  the 
bells  and  their  sweet  domestic  reproach."  Then  he  said  to  himself, 
"The  spirit  is  sound  but  the  heart  is  heavy  laden  !"  From  that  day 
on  Ozanam  pitied  him  sincerely,  for  that  he  carried,  without  being 
able  to  throw  off,  the  shirt  of  Nessus',  doubt,  that  wrung  cries  of  grief 
from  him.  Ozanam's  frank  nature  saw  in  all  that  "  a  sentiment  that 
promised  conversion."  On  this  occasion  his  hope  was  cruelly  deceived, 
yet  his  mistake  showed  a  noble  and  sympathetic  heart. 

Religious  controversy  did  not  find  him  unprepared.  It  did  happen 
occasionally  that  Protestant  ministers  in  Lyons  discussed  such  questions 
with  the  young  and  learned  champion  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
Madame  Ozanam  loved  to  tell  the  story  of  one  who  detained  her  son 
for  hours  debating  a  passage  of  the  Bible,  over  which  they  could  not 
agree.  The  minister  upheld  the  text  of  a  French  translation,  made 
in  1700  by  the  French  Protestant  savant,  David  Martin.  Ozanam 
supported  the  Latin  text  of  the  Vulgate,  which  has  the  authority  of 
the  name  of  St.  Jerome,  its  author,  and  which  was  recognised  and 
adopted  by  the  Council  of  Trent.  The  other  fell  back  on  the  Greek 
text  of  the  Septuagint  which  Jerome,  as  he  maintained,  had  misunder 
stood  and  mistranslated.  Ozanam  at  once  laid  the  Greek  Bible  on  the 
table.  He  opened  it  at  the  debated  passage,  translated  it  word  for 


142  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

word,  and  demonstrated  that  St.  Jerome  had  correctly  interpreted 
it.  The  minister  hoped  to  get  out  of  the  difficulty  by  replying  that 
the  Greek  was,  after  all,  but  itself  a  translation. — "  That  is  so,"  said 
Ozanam,  "  let  us  then  have  recourse  to  the  Hebrew."  The  Hebrew 
Bible  was  at  hand,  the  original  text  was  pointed  out  and  translated 
literally.  The  daring  controversialist  was  not  the  less  embarrassed 
because  he  had  to  admit  that  he  did  not  know  Hebrew.  Whereupon 
he  beat  a  retreat,  promising  to  return  after  consulting  eminent  authori 
ties.  "  We  did  not  see  him  again  !"  added  Ozanam 's  mother,  not 
without  some  touch  of  family  pride. 

Twenty  years  previous  to  this  period  Lyons  saw  the  humble  birth 
of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  elder  sister  of  the 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  De  Paul,  to  whom  it  bore  a  strong  resemblance. 
Its  Council  General  asked  Ozanam  to  edit  its  Annals.  The  request 
was  so  insistent  that  he  could  not  possibly  refuse.  Moreover  his 
natural  inclination  for  the  work  was  considerable  and  Ozanam  con 
tinued  it  for  eight  years. 

His  first  article  was  a  Historical  Note  on  the  first  beginnings  of  the 
Society  in  1819  and  its  extension  into  two  hemispheres.  He  depicts 
the  little  chamber  in  Lyons  in  which  holy  inspired  women  prayed  side 
by  side  with  apostles.  The  historian  tells  us  their  names.  He  also 
indicates  the  mighty  rushing  of  the  wind  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  this 
latter-day  Pentecost,  levelling  every  obstacle,  kindling  hearts,  working 
miracles  and  making  poor  weak  human  creatures  the  instruments  of 
His  conquests.  "It  seems  as  though  that  mighty  wind  is  again 
beginning  to  blow  over  the  Christian  world.  Vocations  are  becoming 
more  numerous.  Seculars  and  Regulars  are  being  drawn  by  an  irresist 
ible  desire  for  those  heroic  struggles  that  amaze  the  effeminacy  of  our 
days.  In  a  short  time  it  will  be  easier  to  find  men,  ready  to  work  for 
souls  in  all  quarters  of  the  world,  then  the  means  to  carry  them  thither 

steerage  or  to  provide  their  plainest  fare Let  us  remember 

that  fact,  and  if  at  times  we  have  been  selfishly  tempted  to  rest  satisfied 
with  the  enjoyment  of  the  benefits  conferred  by  Catholic  civilisation, 
let  us  think  of  the  millions  who  do  not  yet  know  of  the  Redemption 
of  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

In  the  annual  report  of  1840,  Ozanam  formally  invites  associates 
in  the  splendid  images  which  the  Church  and  the  Gospel  furnish  : 
"  Christians  of  Europe,  engaged  formerly  in  the  work  of  pious  founda 
tions,  which  the  storms  of  our  times  have  demolished,  come  and  take 


THE  ARCHBISHOP  OF  COLOGNE  143 

your  place  in  this.  You  are  the  natural  godparents  of  these  infant 
peoples  awaiting  baptism.  The  holy  water  is  ready ;  the  Church 
stands  waiting  with  the  Gospels  and  the  taper  in  her  hands.  Hasten 
to  the  sacred  meeting- place  where  the  laity  are  associated  with  the 
priest  in  the  great  work  of  universal  redemption.  Bring  them  the 
priest  whose  humble  helper  you  are  like  those  unknown  disciples, 
who  bore  the  baskets  of  miraculous  bread  before  the  Master,  or  like 
her  who  wiped  His  brow  bathed  in  blood,  or  the  Cyrenian  who  shared 
and  lightened  the  burden  of  His  cross  on  the  road  to  Calvary." 

It  was  in  similar,  though  in  still  more  ardent  terms,  that,  towards 
the  end  of  1837,  Ozanam  called  the  Catholic  youth  of  Paris  to  the 
defence  of  the  Church,  which  was  being  persecuted  by  the  narrow- 
minded  Prussian  evangelical  spirit.  They  had  just  learned  of  the 
midnight  arrest  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  Monsignor  de  Droste 
Wischering,  in  his  own  palace,  and  his  subsequent  imprisonment  in 
the  fortress  of  Minden,  because  of  his  fidelity  to  Canon  Law  in  the 
celebration  of  mixed  marriages.  It  was  the  event  of  the  day.  The 
Pope  had  pronounced,  and  European  opinion  was  up  in  arms.  "Are 
you  not  going  to  do  anything  in  Paris  ?"  Ozanam  wrote  to  Lallier  on 
the  7th  February,  1838.  "  I  should  like  a  demonstration  of  Parisian 
youth  about  the  Cologne  affair.  Do  you  remember  the  day  when 
Lacordaire  asked  God  to  send  us  saints  ?  You  are  given  a  Thomas 
of  Canterbury  and  you  do  not  welcome  him  !  Yet  it  seems  to  me  that 
on  this  occasion  the  Saracens  of  rationalism  have  done  us  a  good  turn 
and  that  it  is  the  moment  to  cry  out :  "God  wills  it  !" 

"  But  it  will  be  said,  of  what  use  ?  First,  to  enkindle  conviction  in 
Catholic  youth.  I  know  very  well  that  neither  God,  nor  the  Church,  nor 
the  Archbishop  stand  in  need  of  our  support.  .  .  .  But  useless  servants 
as  we  are,  we  must  not  be  idle  servants.  Woe  to  us  if  we  do  not  seek  to 
co-operate  in  those  great  works  which  can  be  accomplished  without  usT) 
When  the  Saviour  was  dying  on  Calvary,  he  could  have  had  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels,  yet  He  did  not  wish  it.  He  willed  that  Simon 
the  Cyrenian,  an  obscure  man,  should  help  to  bear  His  cross  and  thus 
contribute  to  the  great  miracle  of  the  redemption  of  the  world." 

Why  was  Ozanam  not  in  Paris  ?  After  this  lively  sortie  against 
the  enemy  without,  Ozanam  hastened  to  shut  himself  up  in  his  studious 
solitude,  henceforward  absorbed  in  the  one  urgent  matter,  his  Degree 
of  Doctor  of  Literature  and  the  immediate  preparation  of  his  thesis  : 
Dante  and  Catholic  Philosophy  in  the  i$th  Century. 


i44  FREDERICK  OZANAM 


CHAPTER  XII. 

DEGREE    OF    DOCTOR    OF    LITERATURE. 
"  DANTE  AND   CATHOLIC   PHILOSOPHY." — HIS   MOTHER'S   DEATH. 

1839- 

The  Italian  trip  in  1833,  which  ended  pleasantly  with  a  stay  in 
Florence,  had  brought  Ozanam  into  close  touch  with  Dante.  But 
the  great  poet  was  for  him  as  yet  merely  one  of  those  things  seen, 
as  it  were,  through  a  glass  darkly,  which  he  desired  to  examine  closely. 
Two  years  after  his  return  he  expressed  himself  as  follows  : 

"  We  do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  wander  anywhere  without  leaving 
something  of  ourselves  behind,  just  as  the  lambs  leave  some  of  their  wool 
hanging  on  the  brambles.  I  experienced  this  fatality  of  our  nature 
in  the  short  Italian  trip  which  I  made  two  years  ago.  All  the  beautiful 
things,  which  I  saw  there,  caused  me  less  joy  on  finding  them  than 
sorrow  on  leaving  them.  I  entered  Rome  tired,  I  left  it  in  tears. 
Rome,  Florence,  Loretto,  Milan,  Genoa,  have  all  retained  something 
of  myself.  Whenever  I  think  of  them  I  feel  that  I  must  return  to  recover 
what  was  left  there." 

One  of  the  things  but  dimly  seen,  and  which  was  not  yet  clear  to 
him,  was  the  great  place  which  Dante  occupied  not  only  in  his  Italian 
fatherland,  but  in  the  Church  itself  ;  Dante,  whose  head,  crowned 
with  laurels  he  saw  prominent  among  the  Pontiffs  and  Doctors  in 
Raphael's  celebrated  picture  of  the  Disputation  on  the  Blessed  Sacra 
ment. 

"  When,"  he  wrote,  "  one  has  visited  Rome  and  realised  a  long- 
cherished  hope,  when  one  has  ascended,  with  a  feeling  of  pious  interest, 
the  great  staircase  of  the  Vatican  and  beheld  the  wonders  of  all  places 
and  of  all  ages  collected  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  that  magnificent 
building,  one  reaches  at  length  a  spot  which  may  be  called  the  sanctuary 
of  Christian  Art :  Raphael's  Galleries." 


DANTE  AMID  THE  PONTIFFS  145 

"  The  painter  has  depicted,  in  a  series  of  historical  and  symbolical 
frescoes,  the  greatness  and  the  goodness  of  Catholicity.  There  is  one 
of  those  frescoes  on  which  the  eye  rests  with  special  love,  whether 
because  of  the  magnificence  of  the  subject  or  of  the  felicity  of  execution. 
The  Blessed  Sacrament  is  represented  on  an  altar,  elevated  between 
Heaven  and  earth.  The  Heavens  are  opened  and  show  the  splendour  of 
the  Holy  Trinity,  many  angels,  and  saints :  the  earth  is  represented  by 
a  large  gathering  of  Pontiffs  and  Doctors.  A  very  remarkable  figure 
stands  out  in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  groups,  remarkable  for  the 
striking  personality,  with  head  crowned,  not  with  tiara  and  mitre, 
but  with  a  garland  of  laurels.  With  a  little  effort  of  memory,  one 
recognises,  in  those  strong  and  stern  features,  Dante  Alighieri. 

Then  one  is  driven  to  ask  why  the  poet's  figure  was  introduced 
into  the  centre  of  that  gathering  of  venerable  witnesses  and  defenders 
of  faith  in  the  divine  mystery,  into  a  picture  painted  under  the  eyes 
of  the  Popes  and  in  the  very  citadel  of  orthodoxy  ?" 

Once  that  problem  presented  itself  to  Ozanam's  mind  it  left  him 
no  rest  until  he  had  found  the  explicit  solution  in  the  life  and  work 
of  the  great  Florentine.  Dante  and  Ozanam  made  a  compact  on 
that  day. 

A  literary,  philosophical,  and  historical  study  which  would  transport 
the  writer  right  into  the  Middle  Ages  with  its  beliefs,  saints,  institu 
tions,  manners,  poetry,  and  art,  was  not  displeasing  to  the  young  and 
enthusiastic  disciple  of  the  antiquarian  school  of  1830.  In  company 
with  Montalembert,  Rio,  Overbeck,  Victor  Hugo,  he  was  already 
engaged  hi  restoring  its  forgotten,  neglected,  or  even  despised  monu 
ments.  Ozanam  wrote  to  Janmot  in  poetic  terms  of  the  Middle  Ages  : 
"  That  far  off  age  which  gives  the  effect  of  the  enchanted  isles,  where 
one  gathers  lotus  and  quenches  thirst  in  streams,  that  drown  one's 
country  in  oblivion,  where  one  feels  captivated  by  the  charm  of  its  feasts, 
legends,  and  traditions,  and  enthralled  by  the  lavish  wealth  of  its 
monuments." 

"  I  feel  that  my  studies  on  Dante  have  produced  a  similar  impression 
on  me  as  my  trip  to  Rome.  The  sweet  captivation  which  one* 
loves  to  find  in  ruins,  one  likewise  finds  in  memories.  What 
indeed  are  memories  but  other  ruins,  which  are  sadder  and  more 
compelling  than  those  covered  by  moss  and  ivy  ?  Is  it  not  as  much 
a  duty  for  us  to  delve  into  the  legends  and  traditions  of  our  forefathers, 
as  to  examine  the  debris  of  aquaducts  and  temples?" 


146  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

There  was  nothing  in  that  but  intellectual  interest.  What  was  more 
important  for  Ozanam  was  the  religious  interest  in  a  study,  which  would 
offer  him  splendid  matter  for  the  doctrinal  and  historical  exposition 
of  the  action  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  so-called  dark  ages,  which 
he  proposed  to  illumine  with  true  light.  That  is  what  definitely 
decided  him,  as  he  wrote  to  Janmot  as  early  as  November,  1836  : 
"  I  think  that  I  have  already  told  you  that  one  of  my  theses  is  on 
Dante's  Philosophy.  That  leads  me  to  a  close  study  of  the  poet  and 
his  period.  In  endeavouring  to  solve  some  of  the  obscure  questions 
which  are  to  be  met  with  I  continually  admire  the  action  of  the  Popes 
in  the  Middle  Ages."  So  much  for  history. 

But  what  had  escaped  notice  up  to  that  time  in  Dante's  poem  was 
his  philosophy.  What  was  most  neglected,  most  despised,  and  con 
sequently  most  unknown,  even  by  Catholics  in  the  Middle  Ages,  was 
scholastic  philosophy  ;  it  was  considered  abstruse,  academic,  dry,  and 
barren,  and  characterised  by  a  subtlety  that  bordered  on  puerility. 
Now,  that  philosophy  was  displayed  in  Dante's  work  in  all  its  breadth 
and  loftiness  ;  a  vast  system  of  ideas  embracing  all  knowledge,  divine 
and  human  ;  a  philosophy  culminating  in  theology  ;  the  wisdom  of 
nature  responding  to  the  wisdom  of  grace  and  of  eternal  glory ; 
a  never-ending  sublime  chain  linking  Heaven  and  earth,  and 
binding  time  to  eternity.  That  is  its  greatness,  that  also  is  its 
splendour  with  Dante.  With  him  the  immense  system  is  unfolded  in  a 
poem.  The  idea  is  manifested  symbolically,  incarnate  in  living 
characters.  The  thoughts  are  clothed  in  the  richest  colours  of  created 
nature,  reflected  from  uncreated  nature.  We  are  here  face  to  face 
with  the  rarest  of  things,  a  philosophy  which  is  at  once  poetic,  popular 
and  sound  ;  a  philosophy  winged  and  armed.  In  Dante  it  finds  ex 
pression  in  the  most  melodious  language  in  Europe,  in  a  vocabulary 
that  is  understanded  of  women  and  children  ;  its  lessons  are  conveyed 
in  lyrics.  In  Dante  it  frees  itself  from  the  formulas  of  the  schools 
and  loves  to  mingle  in  the  most  intimate  mysteries  of  the  heart,  as  well 
as  in  the  noisy  squabbles  of  the  market  place.  Introduced  to  it 
through  the  medium  of  the  poet,  we  learn  to  love  its  masters,  and  the 
names  of  Albert  the  Great,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  St.  Bonaventure 
become  beautiful  names  once  more. 

"  It  must  be  admitted,"  Ozanam  concludes,  "  that  the  science  of 
thinking  was  well  known  at  that  time,  when  people  knew  what  it  is  to 
believe  and  to  pray.  Let  us  pay  homage  to  that  beautiful  spring- 


DANTE'S  POEM  147 

time  of  the  human  race  towards  which,  in  the  time  of  its  stormy 
manhood,  we  need  to  cast  our  looks." 

"  Another  sentiment,"  he  adds,  "  sustained  us  in  collating  the  facts 
and  thoughts  that  are  to  be  found  ;  the  sentiment  of  filial  piety.  It 
furnished  flowers  to  cast  on  the  tombs  of  our  fathers  who  were 
great  and  good  ;  it  furnished  some  grains  of  incense  to  offer  on 
the  altars  of  Him,  who  made  them  great  and  good  for  His  own 
ends." 

"  Passing  beyond  the  limits  of  space  and  time  to  enter  the  tripartite 
kingdom  of  Hell,  Purgatory  and  Paradise  which  was  opened  to  him  by 
Death,  Dante  places  the  scene  of  his  poem  in  Infinity,"  That  is  true 
and  yet  the  action  of  the  poem  is  human.  None  of  us  has  ever 
visited,  save  in  thought,  the  threefold  place  of  remorse  and  damnation, 
of  repentance  and  expiation,  of  mercy  and  eternal  happiness.  But 
underneath  that  fiction,  under  the  veil  of  symbolism  and  the  language 
of  the  Apocalypse,  in  which  Dante's  thought  is  frequently  clothed, 
palpitates  a  living  reality,  man  expressed  in  his  full  moral  existence. 
The  mystery  of  the  human  soul,  with  its  aspirations,  its  struggles,  its 
failures,  its  reverses,  its  resurrections,  with  its  divine  help  and  eternal 
destiny,,  that  is  the  spectacle  which  is  unfolded  in  the  course  of  that 
tremendous  epic  of  incidents,  episodes,  descriptions,  and  endless 
dissertations.  They  seem  to  be  about  to  be  lost  to  view,  yet  in  the 
end  they  co-ordinate  themselves  with  that  psychology,  as  the  centre 
of  their  unity. 

The  man  in  the  scene  is  certainly  not  an  abstraction  nor  an  invention 
of  romantic  fiction.  The  poem  is  a  life  history,  one  that  has  been  lived, 
and  lived  by  him  who  wrote  it.  The  poet  gazed  into  the  abysses  of 
sin  and  grief,  the  depths  of  expiation  and  pardon,  the  heights  of  re 
demption  and  hope,  to  recall  to  his  memory  his  return,  after  the 
time  of  wandering,  to  that  peace  which  had  been  lost  by  sin  ;  that 
peace  which  was  sought  in  repentance  and  found  at  the  feet  of  the 
Christ  of  Mercy,  that  peace  to  which  the  fair  messenger  from  Heaven 
was  to  restore  him  for  ever  ;  that  messenger  whose  beloved  name  itself 
suggests  at  once  the  idea  of  happiness. 

The  Life  of  Dante,  which  Ozanam  sketches  in  one  of  the  chapters, 
depicts  him  enamoured  from  his  earliest  youth  with  the  purest  ideal 
of  beauty  and  innocence  in  the  person  of  a  child,  who  is  for  him  the 
symbol  of  virtue,  and  who  inspires  virtue  in  him  :  "  Those  dreams," 
wrote  Ozanam,  "  were  heavenly,  in  which  Beatrice  appeared  radiant ; 


148  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

the  desire  to  find  himself  passing  near  her  in  the  street  was  inex 
pressible  and  timid  ;  all  his  happiness  lay  in  a  bow  or  a  salute  from  her ; 
his  fears  and  hopes  purified  his  feelings  to  an  extreme  degree  of  delicacy, 
and  detached  them  by  degrees  from  sublunary  cares.  In  later  years,  a 
thought  of,  and  a  glance  from  Beatrice  were  sufficient  to  restore  to 
the  young  Florentine  the  energy  to  do  good  and  the  power  to  avoid 
evil.  Surrounded  by  her  companions,  she  appeared  to  him  an  immortal 
who  had  come  down  among  women  to  honour  their  weakness  and  pro 
tect  their  virtue.  Kneeling  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  she  appeared  to 
him  to  be  encircled  with  the  aureola  of  glory,  to  be  associated  with  the 
beneficent  power  of  the  blessed,  an  advocate  for  sinners  ;  prayer  then 
flowed  more  readily  and  more  confidently  from  his  lips.  When  the 
noble  woman  crossed  the  city,  he  writes  elsewhere,  those  who  saw  her 
coming  were  seized  with  such  emotions,  that  they  did  not  venture  to 
look  up.  She  veiled  herself  with  humility  and  modesty,  not  appearing 
to  notice  their  attentions.  When  she  had  passed  several  exclaimed, 
"  That  is  not  a  woman  but  a  beautiful  angel  from  Heaven." 

In  later  years — it  is  the  second  and  the  bad  phase  of  the  life — 
Dante  in  exile,  when  he  had  no  longer  the  patronage  of  Beatrice, 
sinks  and  wallows  in  vice.  He  confesses  to  this  in  his  poem.  He 
depicts  himself  on  the  summit  of  Purgatory  prostrate,  confounded, 
and  contrite,  when  face  to  face  with  Beatrice,  who  makes  herself 
known  to  him,  and  who  thus  speaks  of  him  in  the  presence  of  the 
hosts  of  angels  and  saints  :  "  This  man  fell  so  low,  that  all  means  of 
salvation  were  unavailing,  save  the  sight  of  the  damned.  That 
is  why  I  have  come  with  prayers  and  tears  to  him,  even  to  the 
gate  of  death."  While  she  is  speaking  the  guilty  one  depicts  himself 
as  "  humiliated,  in  tears,  downcast,  even  as  a  little  child,  who  is  being 
chastised  and  who  admits  his  fault." 

Nor  was  that  all.  In  the  great  Jubilee,  at  the  close  of  the  century 
whose  splendour  he  depicted,  Dante  betook  himself  to  Rome.  There, 
on  his  knees  at  the  feet  of  the  mighty  power  that  opens  or  shuts  the 
gates  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  he  received  absolution  with  humility 
and  piety.  He  describes  willingly,  one  by  one,  the  stages  in  that 
sacrament  of  penance  as  so  many  steps  which  he  ascended  in  turn. 
The  Lady  of  Heaven  said  to  him,  "  Enter,  the  door  is  here  !"  It  was 
the  gate  of  mercy.  Beatrice  would  not  leave  Dante  until  she  had  led 
him  into  Paradise." 

It  is  there  that  the  triple  pilgrimage  beyond  the  tomb  closes  in  the 


DANTE'S   POSITION  149 

poem.  Dante  ended  his  stormy  life  in  penance  and  in  the  grace  of 
God.  At  the  point  of  death  he  asked  to  be  clothed  in  the  habit  of  the 
Friars  Minor  of  Ravenna.  What  is  then  the  foundation,  the  raison 
d'etre,  the  design  and  the  evolution  of  the  poem  ?  It  is  the  poem  of 
penance  and  of  the  Redemption. 

That  is  precisely  the  reason  why  the  apostle  loved  it,  made  it  first 
the  foundation  of  his  thesis,  and  subsequently  of  his  teaching.  It 
is  equally  certain  that  no  one  has  contributed  more  to  rescue  Dante 
from  the  oblivion  into  which  the  three  preceding  centuries  in  France 
had  cast  him.  It  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  in  that  poem  such 
an  extraordinary  mixture  of  obscurity  and  sublimity  that  one  is  not 
astonished  at  the  antipathy  to  it  exhibited  by  French  culture.  It  is 
the  characteristic  of  the  Art  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  be  at  once  childish 
and  sublime.  The  Divina  Commedia  resembles  the  entrances  and 
doorways  of  those  cathedrals,  where  the  inspiring  and  golden-crowned 
figures  of  angels  and  saints  are  crowded  and  crushed  with  the 
monstrous  grossness  of  capitals  and  gargoyles. 

On  the  other  hand,  has  not  Ozanam  exaggerated  the  part  which 
symbolism  plays  in  the  great  work  of  Dante  ?  If  it  is  true,  and  very 
true,  that  Dante  could  represent  Christian  philosophy  in  all  its 
splendour,  which  was  the  philosophy  of  his  own  time,  why  seek,  there 
fore,  to  make  him  a  rival  of  Plato  and  of  Aristotle,  a  forerunner  of 
Bacon,  Descartes,  and  Leibnitz  ?  One,  naturally  asks,  if  Dante 
had  in  truth  foreseen  all  that  ?  Did  not  the  young  philosopher 
credit  his  hero  with  a  grasp  of  knowledge  and  a  breadth  of  mind  with 
which  he  had  himself  been  gifted  by  Providence  ? 

Ozanam  discovered  in  the  proud  Florentine  patriot  an  advocate 
and  a  prophet  of  the  coming  of  democracy.  But  did  he  not  in  that, 
rather  express  his  own  personal  inclinations  and  convictions  ?  How 
ever  that  may  be,  Dante's  Catholic  Guelph  democracy  must  not  be 
confounded  with  the  modern  democracy  crying  out  "  Without  God 
or  Master."  Ozanam  pressed  that  point  with  energy  and  eloquence  : 
"  Dante  did  not  deify  humanity,  by  seeking  to  make  it  self-sufficient, 
with  no  other  source  of  inspiration  but  reason,  with  no  other  law 
than  its  own  will.  He  did  not  confine  it  within  the  vicious  circle  of 
its  earthly  destiny.  He  neither  elevated  nor  debased  humanity  to 
that  degree.  He  saw  that  humanity  is  not  complete  here  below,  and 
he  looked  to  the  next  world  where  the  final  appraisement  of  the  Last 
Judgment  awaited  mankind.  Standing  on  Truth,  which  they  were 


150  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

bound  to  believe,  and  on  Justice,  which  they  were  bound  to  do,  he 
weighs  their  works  with  the  measures  of  Eternity.  He  points  out  to 
them  on  the  right  side  and  on  the  left,  the  places  which  their  virtues 
or  their  vices  have  earned  for  them ;  at  His  voice  the  multitude 
separates  and  flows  thro'  the  gates  of  Hell  or  the  portals  of  Heaven. 
Thus  morality,  through  the  view-point  of  eternal  destiny,  enters  into 
History  ;  Humanity,  humiliated  by  the  law  of  Death,  is  raised  by  the 
law  of  Duty  ;  if  the  honour  of  a  proud  apotheosis  be  denied,  it  is  yet 
saved  from  the  opprobrium  of  the  destiny  of  the  beasts  of  the  field." 

A  serious  question  presented  itself  which  Ozanam  could  not  leave 
unanswered.  Was  the  Dante,  who  is  represented  as  one  of  the  pillars 
of  Roman  Catholic  orthodoxy,  in  reality  a  precursor  and  promoter 
of  the  Reformation,  in  his  invective  against  Rome  and  the  Popes  of 
his  time  ?  That  was  the  trend  of  Protestant  criticism.  In  a 
chapter  on  Dante  s  Orthodoxy  Ozanam  justifies  the  poet  against 
those  who  claim  in  vain,  and  with  unseemly  haste,  to  hail  in  him  a 
precursor.  He  does  not  minimise  the  denunciations  of  the  exile's 
blind  anger  against  those  whom  he  believed  to  be  the  enemies  of  his 
country.  But  he  calls  in  evidence  of  his  orthodoxy  the  whole  life 
of  the  man,  the  whole  work  of  the  poet,  which  he  unceasingly  quotes. 
Then  he  adds  :  "  If  it  is  true  that  Dante  inveighed  against  the  Court 
of  Rome  and  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  pouring  insult  on  the  head  of  those 
whose  feet  he  should  have  kissed  ;  if,  in  the  spirit  of  party  faction,  he 
repeated  the  calumnies  of  the  rebellious  against  the  Popes,  if  he  failed 
to  appreciate  fully  the  piety  of  St.  Celestine,  the  impetuous  zeal  of 
Boniface  VIII,  the  culture  and  wisdom  of  John  XXII.,  that  was  the 
result  of  imprudence  and  passion,  of  error  and  mistake,  but  it  was  not 
heresy.  When  that  same  Boniface  VIII,  whom  he  has  delivered 
over  to  his  poetic  vengeance,  falls  an  august  victim  at  the  hands 
of  the  fanatical  followers  of  Philip  le  Bel,  Dante  then  sees  in  him  the 
Vicar  and  the  image  of  Christ  crucified  for  the  second  time.  If  he 
flagellates  cruelly  sin  in  the  person  of  the  man,  he  bows  down  with 
respect  before  the  power  of  the  High  Priest.  The  Pope  is  for  him 
always  Peter,  holding  in  his  hands  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ; 
and  the  Holy  Roman  See  is  for  him  always  the  rock  upon  which  God 
rests  the  destiny  of  the  world.  The  Papacy  is  a  Monarchy  by  divine 
right,  to  which  every  other  monarchy  owes  filial  honour.  The  true 
Rome,  said  the  poet,  is  that  which  is  identified  with  Christ :  Quella 
Roma,  onde  Cristo  I  romano.  The  Church  of  Rome,  spouse,  inter- 


DANTE'S  ORTHODOXY  151 

preter,  Secretary  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  incapable  of  error  or  falsehood. 
Dante  admits  her  sovereignty  over  conscience ;  he  describes  with 
gratification  the  sacrament  of  penance ;  he  doubts  neither  the  validity 
of  excommunication,  nor  the  legitimacy  of  indulgences,  nor  the  satisfy 
ing  merit  of  good  works.  He  never  wearies  of  recommending  the  souls 
of  the  dead  to  the  prayers  of  the  living ;  he  places  his  hope  in  the 
intercession  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  of  the  saints.  The  religious 
Orders  are  eulogised  by  him  in  the  person  of  the  incomparable  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi :  "  Assisi,  whereout  a  sun  arose  to  illumine  the  world, 
just  as  the  sun  itself  seems  at  times  to  rise  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Ganges."  Also  St.  Dominic,  whom  he  describes  as  "  the  jealous  lover 
of  Christian  Faith,  gentle  to  his  disciples,  terrible  to  his  enemies." 

Dante  relates  that  on  the  threshold  of  Paradise,  St.  Peter  made  him 
undergo  a  regular  examination  in  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
Faith,  before  he  would  admit  him.  He  states  that  the  Prince  of 
Apostles  was  so  pleased  with  his  answers  that  he  embraced  him  thrice. 

Lastly,  he,  whom  Protestantism  would  wish  to  make  a  heretic, 
bequeathed  to  posterity  a  hymn  to  the  Virgin  Mary  in  which  he  offers 
up  the  groanings  of  his  heart  in  satisfaction  for  the  evil  days  he  had 
lived  :  0  Madre  di  virtute,  iu  del  del  donna  e  del  mondo  superna,  etc. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  poems  of  homage  which  the  Mother  of 
God  has  ever  received  from  the  faithful. 

Ozanam's  thesis  was  bred  and  born  in  trouble.  In  Paris  he  had  to 
carry  it  by  main  force  through  his  Law  studies,  and  to  defend  it,  is 
addition,  against  constantly  recurring  invasions  of  meetings,  speeches, 
visits  and  magazines.  He  had  hopes  that,  on  his  return  to  Lyons, 
he  would  find  peace  at  home  in  his  free  time.  He  had  even  persuaded 
himself  that  the  provincial  atmosphere  would  preserve  his  individual 
ity  in  thought  and  style  better  than  the  promiscuous  literary  tone 
of  the  capital.  He  wrote  from  Lyons  :  "  I  think  that,  for  one  who  is 
of  robust  mind  and  who  already  possesses  the  necessary  knowledge, 
work  in  isolation  should  have  its  own  advantage  ;  it  should  preserve 
that  characteristic  originality  which  gets  destroyed  by  the  contagion, 
so  to  speak,  of  styles,  to  which  one  is  inevitably  exposed  in  Paris  .  .  . 
The  mind  and  style  are  more  polished  among  you  of  Paris,  but  it  is 
at  the  price  of  their  very  existence." 

On  the  other  hand,  if  Lyons  was  a  place  without  distractions,  it 
was  also  a  place  without  books  or  documents  of  reference  :  "  The  Muni 
cipal  Library  is  very  weak  in  foreign  literature  !  For  advice  and 


152  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

guidance  I  must  rely  on  my  former  Professor  of  Philosophy,  the  Abbe 
Noirot."  Add  to  that  a  sick  mother,  family  business  affairs,  canvassing 
for  the  Chair  in  Law,  and  preparation  for  the  hypothetical  and  distant 
lectures  ....  Then  why  bother  about  Dante,  the  thesis,  the 
Doctorate  of  Literature,  or  literature  at  all  ?  "I  have  often  asked 
myself  if  anything,  other  than  pride,  chained  me  to  unproductive 
literature,  which  perhaps  I  should  have  done  better  to  abandon." 
But  no,  it  was  a  useful  instrument  in  the  service  of  God. 

On  the  iyth  of  May  it  was  finished.  Dante  was  despatched  to  the 
Sorbonne,  and  Lallier  was  asked  to  introduce  him  to  M.  Le  Clerc 
"  although  the  Sorbonne  was  no  stranger  to  the  old  poet,"  wrote  the 
author  to  his  friend.  "  It  is  an  established  fact  that,  in  his  lifetime, 
about  the  year  1230,  Dante  spent  some  time  in  Paris  ;  that  he  was 
actually  present  at  some  lectures  of  one  Sigier — the  Cousin  of  his 
time — in  the  Rue  du  Fouarre.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  the  capital 
has  changed  somewhat  since  then,  that  the  poet  has  grown  very  old 
indeed  and  would  have  great  difficulty  in  finding  his  way  thither. 
Add  to  that  the  fact,  that  the  present  Sorbonne  but  little  resembles 
that  of  the  St.  Louis  period,  and  that  Dante  would  present  himself 
rather  awkwardly,  if  alone,  at  the  door  of  M.  Le  Clerc,  who  is  not  a  St. 
Thomas  of  Acquin." 

All  that  was  indeed  but  too  true.     Yet  the  Dean  at  least  loved  Dante, 
for  the  reason,  that  Dante  was  the  means  of  introducing  a  reference 
to  his  master,  Sigier,  Sigieri,    in  the  2ist  Volume   of  L'Histoire  lit- 
teraire  de  France.     He  was,  therefore,  in  favour  of  the  thesis  in  which 
he  was  mentioned.     He  very  kindly  recommended  certain  alterations 
to  Ozanam,  which  necessitated  some  delay.     It  was  not  to  be  the  last. 
In  the  summer  of  1838  Ozanam  rented  for  his  mother  and  himself 
"  a  beautiful  little  house  in  the  Isle  of  Barbary."     It  is  there  that  we 
must  picture  him,  supporting  on  his  arm  his  tottering  and  almost 
blind  mother,  in  short  walks  and  prolonged  chats  by  the  banks  of 
the  Saone,  while  his  thoughts  were  wandering  with  Dante,  from  Virgil 
to  Beatrice,  from  the  circles  of  the  Inferno  to  the  visions  of  the  living 
rose  of  the  elect  of  Paradise.     He  invited  his  friends  there  and  begged 
Lallier  especially    to   come.     "On   your   return   from    Rouen   allow 
yourself  to  drift  down  the  beautiful  Saone  as  far  as  the  Isle  of  Barbary 
which  I  showed  you.     There  will  be  room,  in  the  pretty  little  house 
that  we  have  rented,  to  receive  you  properly,  and  there  is  always  a  glad 
welcome  ready  for  you  from  all  my  people.     You  know  also  that  a 


OZANA1VTS  THESES  153 

little  further  on,  where  this  river  loses  its  colour  and  name,  yet 
another  old-standing  invitation  awaits  you.  Thus  on  the  swaying 
movement  of  the  waters,  what  with  our  home  and  our  affection, 
what  with  the  welcome  of  those  who  know  you  as  well  as  that  of  our 
conferences  who  do  not  know  you,  you  will  be  able  to  pass  a  few  days 
in  our  midst.  I  shall  be  glad  to  take  you  back  at  the  end  of  the  stay, 
and  to  prolong  our  time  together  even  as  far  as  the  capital,  which  fas 
cinates  and  retains  you  against  our  wishes." 

It  was  not  merely  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  friendship  that  Ozanam 
invited  his  friend,  but  still  more  in  the  interests  of  charity  and  of  the 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  to  which  they  both  belonged.  The 
two  Lyons  Conferences,  which  he  wished  to  introduce  to  Lallier,  are 
already  known  to  us,  and  we  shall  have  to  speak  of  them  again  .  .  . 
The  only  complete  and  faithful  portrait  of  Ozanam,  if  it  were  possible, 
would  depict  him  living  at  the  same  time  his  life  as  a  scientist  and  as 
a  man  of  charity,  as  a  Doctor  of  Laws  and  an  Apostle,  a  son  and  a 
friend,  traversing  in  sweat  and  in  tears  the  very  paths  trod  by  the 
God  of  the  Cross. 

It  was  on  the  jth  January,  1839,  after  having  spent  several  months 
in  Paris  putting  the  finishing  touches  to  his  theses,  that  Ozanam  was 
called  upon  to  sustain  them.  The  title  of  the  Latin  theses  was  :  "De 
frequenti  apud  veteres  poetas  heroum  ad  inferos  descensu  :  of  the  fiction 
of  the  descent  of  heros  into  Hell  frequently  met  with  in  classical  Poets." 
It  was  dedicated  to  his  father.*  The  thesis  in  French  was  entitled  : 
De  La  Divine  Comedie  et  de  la  Philosophic  de  Dante.  It  was  dedicated 
to  M.  de  Lamartine,  to  M.  Ampere,  junior,  and  to  the  Abbe  Noirot, 
his  former  Professor  of  Philosophy. 

The  hearing  of  these  was  surrounded  with  unusual  ceremony. 
In  the  hall  was  a  crowded  audience  containing  many  students.  At 
the  Examining  Board  were  seated  no  less  than  nine  Professors.  The 
whole  Faculty  was  present.  The  President,  M.  Le  Clerc,  presided, 
Messieurs  Saint-Marc-Girardin,  Jouffroy,  Damiron,  Guignaut,  Patin, 
Lacretelle  and  Fauriel.  Messrs  Cousin  and  Villemain,  who  had  ceased 
lecturing  since  1830,  came  and  took  their  place  at  the  Examiners 

*  Paris,  Bailly,  1839.  The  following  is  the  dedication:  D.O.M. — Et  memoriae 
aeternae — Patris  amantissimi — Joannis  Antonii  Francisci  Ozanam — Christiana 
fides,  pauperum  carriate  publicae  utilitatis  studio  commendatissimi — Filius 
maerens — Humanarum  disciplinarum  quarum  semina  ab  eo  susceperat — fructus 
minium  seros — D.D.D. 


154  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

table.     They  were  all  renowned,  some  even  illustrious.     It  was  indeed 
an  exceptional  Examining  Board. 

The  candidate  was  a  young  man  of  extreme  modesty  and  diffidence. 
But  he  was  neither  nervous  nor  fearful,  for  he  knew  that  Truth  was 
on  his  side  and  that  his  duty  was  to  defend  it.  The  difficulties  of 
examination  and  of  cross-question,  the  anxiety  caused  by  speaking  in 
public  sharpened,  rather  than  confused,  his  faculties.  We  have  heard 
him  admit  to  a  friend  that  the  spoken  rather  than  the 
written  word,  the  sound  of  a  voice,  was  able  to  elevate  and  inspire 
him.  He  was  indeed  an  orator. 

M.  de  Lacretelle,  who,  in  spite  of  his  age,  continued  to  be  called 
Lacretelle  the  Young,  Professor  of  History  in  the  Faculty  since  1809, 
was  one  of  the  examiners.  He  was  at  this  time  74  years  of  age,  and, 
he  only  resigned  the  Chair  when  87.  He  asked  Ozanam  the  following 
question  :  "  What  were  the  great  names  in  the  French  Language  and 
Literature  in  the  i6th  century  ?"  The  candidate  in  his  answer  placed  in 
the  forefront  St.  Francis  de  Sales  ;  then,  in  chronological  order  and 
with  their  respective  characteristics,  Rabelais,  Michel  Montaigne, 
Charron,  Etienne  Pasquier,  etc.  The  old  Professor,  who  had  probably 
never  read  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  at  once  objected  to  the  priority  given 
to  the  Bishop.  Ozanam  gave  his  reasons.  M.  de  Lacretelle  raised 
further  objections  which  were  immediately  answered  by  the  brilliant 
and  well  equipped  disputant.  The  discussion  grew  warm.  It  cen 
tred  around  the  convictions  and  the  virtues  of  the  Savoyard  Bishop, 
Churchman  and  Literateur.  Frederick  v/as  now  on  his  strongest 
ground  ;  on  philology  and  philosophy  in  turn,  on  doctrine  and  litera 
ture.  Then  he  traced  the  origin  of  the  French  Language,  its  change 
in  the  I5th  century,  its  sources  in  Greek,  Latin,  Germanic  idioms,  and 
their  primitive  derivation  from  the  Oriental  Languages.  All  that 
was  elaborated  by  the  candidate  with  such  force  of  argument  and  such 
aptness  of  quotation,  that  victory  lay  with  the  Bishop  of  Geneva. 
The  old  Professor  was  completely  silenced  and  stopped  abruptly, 
having  nothing  to  expect  from  the  audience,  but  the  respect  due  to  his 
grey  hairs.  The  audience  was  completely  on  the  side  of  the  young 
candidate. 

The  greatest  success  of  the  day  was  the  argument  on  Dante  and 
his  philosophy.  Ozanam  was  full  of  this  subject  after  six  years  of 
study.  At  one  part  of  the  discussion,  he  spoke  with  such  elevation 
of  thought  and  beauty  of  language  that  M.  Cousin  broke  in  on  the 


PROFESSOR    OF    LAW  155 

argument  and  exclaimed  :  "Ah  !  Monsieur  Ozanam,  that  is  the  height 
of  eloquence."  The  audience  answered  with  loud  and  prolonged 
applause.  "It  was  not  alone  a  success,"  said  Pere  Lacordaire,  "  it 
was  a  revelation."  The  sombre  figure  of  Dante,  whom  he  had  called 
forth  from  the  I3th  century,  with  his  triple  crown  of  Poet,  Doctor  and 
Exile,  had  awakened  his  own  genius.  The  Sorbonne  had  never  seen 
such  a  brilliant  examination. 

Ozanam's  letters  do  not  mention  one  word  of  all  this.  He  dis 
appeared  silently  the  following  day.  The  state  of  his  mother's 
health  recalled  him. 

Let  us  say  at  once  that  Ozanam's  answer  to  that  applause  was  to 
endeavour  to  do  still  better,  by  giving  a  permanent  form  to  his  thesis 
in  a  complete  volume  entitled  :  Dante  or  Catholic  Philosophy  in  the 
i^th  Century  :  "  My  thesis  on  Dante  has  grown  into  a  volume,"  he 
wrote  to  a  friend,  "  and  if  I  do  not  stop  I  fear  it  may  grow  into  another. 
You  know  by  that  who  is  talking."  When  the  work  was  published 
it  was  immediately  translated  into  English  and  German,  and  appeared 
simultaneously  in  four  different  versions  in  Italian. 

The  brilliant  success  of  his  thesis  had  its  immediate  effect  on  public 
opinion  in  Lyons.  The  Municipal  Council  appointed  Ozanam,  by 
36  votes  to  24,  to  the  Professorship  of  Commercial  Law.  This 
appointment  required  to  be  confirmed  by  the  Minister  for  Educa 
tion,  who  was  M.  Cousin.  Still  under  the  influence  of  the  thesis 
and  the  eloquence  which  he  had  applauded,  M.  Cousin  at  once  offered 
to  the  newly-appointed  Doctor  of  Literature  the  Chair  of  Philosophy 
in  the  College  of  Orleans.  Ozanam  had  then  a  choice  of  posts.  Even 
here,  in  Lyons,"  he  wrote,  "  it  is  agreed  that  my  future  prospects 
are  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire.  I  too,  was  pleased  with  the  chance 
of  a  purely  intellectual  career,  with  the  possibility  of  a  life  which 
would  be  more  detached  and  peaceful,  and  which  would  have,  in  addi 
tion,  the  advantage  of  being  near  Paris.  But  as  against  all  that,  I 
foresaw  greater  dependence,  loneliness  in  a  city  where  I  am  unknown  : 
above  all  the  necessity  of  leaving  mother  for  ten  months  every 
year,  at  the  risk  of  a  similar  shock  to  that  which  happened  on  the  12 th 
May,  1837.  I  therefore  answered  M.  Cousin,  thanking  him  very  much 
for  the  honour  he  had  done  me  by  his  offer  of  the  Chair  of  Philosophy 
in  Orleans,  but  regretting  that  family  reasons  obliged  me  to  declare 
in  favour  of  the  Chair  in  Lyons." 

Alas  !    his  mother  was  spared  to  him  for  only  a  few  brief  days. 


156  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Ozanam  had  to  go  to  Paris  in  the  month  of  August  and  spend  some  days 
there  in  connection  with  those  same  family  affairs.  On  his  return 
on  the  I4th,  he  found  her  in  a  critical  state,  which  ended  fatally. 
She  died  on  the  I4th  October.  "  The  length  of  her  illness  made  me 
fear,"  he  wrote  to  Lallier,  "  lest  in  losing  her  mental  faculties,  she 
might  fail  in  the  supreme  sacrifice  before  its  consummation.  That 
trial  was  spared  her.  Her  energy  rallied  in  her  last  moments.  Christ 
descending  for  the  last  time  into  the  heart  of  this  well-beloved  servant 
gave  her  the  strength  necessary  for  the  supreme  battle." 

"  She  remained  almost  three  days  calm  and  serene,  murmuring 
prayers,  and  replying  in  words  of  inexpressible  maternal  kindness  to 
our  caresses.  Then  came  the  fatal  night.  It  was  I  who  was  at  her 
bedside.  I  suggested  in  tears  to  my  poor  mother  the  Acts  of  Faith, 
Hope  and  Charity,  which  she  had  taught  me  to  babble  in  my  youth. 
About  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  change  took  place  that  terrified 
me.  I  called  my  eldest  brother,  who  was  sleeping  in  the  next  room. 
Charles  heard  us  and  got  up,  the  servants  also  hastened  to  the  room. 
We  knelt  around  the  bed.  Alphonse  recited  the  prayers  for  the  dying, 
to  which  we  gave  the  responses  in  tears.  Every  religious  consolation 
was  once  more  received.  The  remembrance  of  a  stainless  life,  the  good 
works  which  by  their  number  and  their  difficulty  had  hastened  her 
end,  three  sons  preserved  in  the  faith  amid  storm  and  stress,  and  all 
at  her  bedside  by  a  providential  dispensation  ;  finally  the  hope  of 
glorious  immortality,  all  served  to  dispel  the  terror,  to  illumine  the 
darkness  of  Death.  Neither  convulsions  nor  agony  supervened,  but 
a  gentle  sleep,  which  left  her,  as  it  were,  smiling  ;  a  gentle  breathing 
which  faded  slowly  ;  the  moment  came  when  it  too  ceased,  and  we 
rose  up  orphans  ....  Happy  is  the  man  to  whom  God  has  given 
a  holy  mother  !" 

"  That  loving  memory  will  never  leave  me.  In  my  present  loneliness 
the  thought  of  that  edifying  scene  sustains  and  elevates  me.  In  the 
consideration  of  the  extreme  shortness  of  life,  and  of  the  separation 
of  those  whom  death  parts,  the  temptations  of  pride  vanish  and  the 
evil  passions  of  the  flesh  are  subdued.  All  my  desires  are  resolved 
into  one,  to  die  like  my  mother  !" 

Madame  Ozanam  died  like  her  husband  in  the  service  of  the  poor. 
She  had  devoted  her  whole  time  to  them  since  her  children  had  no 
longer  need  of  her  care.  Even  as  Frederick  had  been  edified  at  find 
ing  from  his  father's  papers,  that  a  third  of  his  patients  had  been  free, 


HIS  MOTHER'S  DEATH  157 

he  was  now  edified  to  find  among  his  mother's  papers,  notes  for  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  poor.  She  had  them  for  the  use  of  the 
Ladies'  Association  of  Charity,  whose  President  and  model  she  was, 
in  their  visits  to  the  sick  poor. 

Ozanam  now  saw  "  united  in  one  and  the  same  happiness  in 
God  him  and  her  whom  he  had  seen  united  on  earth  in  the  same  works 
and  the  same  trials  !  May  I,"  he  said,  "  continue  in  thought,  in  faith, 
and  in  virtue,  that  communion  with  them  which  nothing  was  able  to 
interrupt,  and  may  their  death  not  make  any  other  change  in  our 
family  than  the  addition  to  it  of  two  saints." 

But  he  had  no  longer  the  charm  of  that  bodily  presence  which  was  a 
sort  of  divinity  for  him.  He  grieves  in  these  terms  to  a  friend, 
M.  Reverdy  :  "  What  a  loss  for  the  religious  interests  of  my  soul  1 
Gentle  exhortation,  powerful  example,  a  fervour  which  warmed  my 
lukewarm  spirit,  a  source  of  encouragement  which  re-inforced  my 
strength.  Moreover  she,  whose  first  instruction  had  given  me  the 
Faith,  was  the  living  representative  of  our  Holy  Church,  who  is  also 
our  mother.  Sometimes  I  seem  to  feel,  even  as  the  disciples  did, 
after  the  Ascension  of  our  Lord,  that  something  divine  has  been  taken 
from  my  side  ...  Oh  !  Beseech  our  Lord,  that  He  would  send  to 
me,  as  he  sent  to  His  orphaned  disciples,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
Consoler,  the  Paraclete.  I  have  not  a  great  mission  to  accomplish  as 
they  had,  and  I  do  not  look  for  the  miraculous  gifts,  which  He 
lavished  on  them.  I  only  ask  for  the  strength  to  finish  my  pilgrim 
age  of  a  few  years,  or  perhaps  of  a  few  days,  and  to  have  such  an 
end  as  my  holy  mother  had." 

She  had  not  in  reality  left  him.  The  continual  thought  of  his  mother 
became,  as  it  were,  a  kind  of  habitual  intercourse  between  his  soul  and 
hers.  Two  years  later,  on  the  3ist  January  1842,  when  consoling  his 
friend  Falconnet,  who  had  a  like  cause  for  mourning,  he  confided 
to  him  this  habit  of  spiritual  companionship.  This  letter  is  alto 
gether  admirable. 

"  Face  to  face  with  death,  in  the  excess  of  grief,  every  thought  of 
consolation  iseemed  impossible,  nay,  insulting  to  her  memory.  Yet 
the  time  soon  came  when  I  began  to  feel  that  I  was  not  alone.  Some  feel 
ing  of  infinite  calm  passed  into  my  soul.  It  was  an  assurance  that  I 
had  not  been  abandoned.  It  was  a  beneficent,  though  invisible, 
presence.  It  was  as  if  a  beloved  soul  had  brushed  me  with  her  wings 
in  passing.  Sometimes  I  seemed  to  recognise  the  footsteps,  the  voice, 


158  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

the  breath  of  my  mother.  Thus,  when  an  ardent  inspiration  enkindled 
my  failing  strength,  I  could  not  but  believe  that  it  was  always  she. 

"  Even  to  this  day  I  have  that  feeling.  There  are  moments  of  sudden 
joy,  as  if  she  were  at  my  side.  There  are  especially  times  of  maternal 
and  filial  intercourse,  when  I  am  in  direst  need.  On  such  occasions, 
I  weep  more  than  at  the  time  of  her  death,  but  an  inexpressible  peace 
is  mingled  with  my  grief.  When  I  am  good,  when  I  have  done  some 
thing  for  the  poor  whom  she  so  loved,  when  I  am  at  peace  with  God, 
Whom  she  had  so  well  served,  I  see  her  smiling  on  me  from  afar.  Some 
times,  when  I  pray,  I  seem  to  hear  her  joining  in  my  prayer,  just  as 
we  used  to  pray  together  at  night  at  the  foot  of  the  Crucifix." 

"  Lastly — and  this  I  should  not  confide  in  anyone  but  you— when 
I  have  the  happiness  to  receive  Holy  Communion,  when  our  Saviour 
comes  to  visit  me,  it  seems  to  me  that  she  follows  Him  into  my  poor 
heart,  even  as  she  so  often  followed  Him  in  the  Holy  Viaticum,  into 
the  rooms  of  the  poor.  Then  I  firmly  believe  in  the  actual  presence 
of  my  mother  by  my  side." 

That  admirable  letter  concludes  with  the  assurance  that  he  is  still 
the  object  of  her  solicitude  in  Heaven.  "  Is  there  any  other  glory  for 
mothers  on  this  earth  than  their  children,  have  they  any  other  happiness 
than  ours  ?  What  is  Heaven  itself  for  them  if  we  are  not  there  ?  I  am, 
then,  convinced  that  we  still  occupy  their  thoughts,  that  they 
continue  to  live  for  us,  there  as  well  as  here,  that  they  have  not  changed 
save  in  the  direction  of  greater  power  and  greater  love." 


159 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LECTURES    ON    THE    LAW    OF    COMMERCE. 
HIS    VOCATION. 

THE     CLOISTER     OR     THE     WORLD. — PERE     LACORDAIRE. — PROTESTANTISM 
AND  LIBERTY. — OPENING  OF  THE  COURSE  OF  THE  LAW  OF  COMMERCE. 
— POST-GRADUATE  CONCURSUS  IN  LITERATURE. 
1839-1840. 

We  find  Ozanam  stunned  by  the  death  of  his  mother,  uncertain 
in  his  plans,  wandering  in  his  paths.  He  was  looking  backward.  He 
seemed  to  have  been  moving  for  the  last  five  or  six  years  from  illusion 
to  illusion.  Now,  when  he  had  attained  the  goal,  there  was  no  one 
alive  whose  wish  made  him  desire  it.  Whither  was  God  leading  him  ? 
What  did  He  want  of  him  ?  It  was  now  that  the  vital,  the  sublime 
question  of  his  vocation  presented  itself  to  him  in  anxiety  and  torture. 
Would  God  be  served  by  him  in  the  cloister  or  in  the  world  ?  Let  us 
hear  him  on  this  theme  in  one  of  his  letters  : 

"  When  the  time  came,"  he  writes,  "  to  choose  a  profession,  as  my 
parents  were  still  young,  I  chose  the  Bar  to  please  them.  I  had 
scarcely  been  called  when  my  poor  father  leaves  me  and  cannot  enjoy 
the  fruit  of  his  sacrifices.  I  then  try  a  new  career  in  order  to  meet 
the  financial  necessities  of  my  mother,  whom  I  cannot  leave.  When 
at  the  end  of  two  years  I  obtain  my  appointment,  my  mother  is  not 
there  to  benefit  by  what  I  had  underaken  for  her  sake.  That  double 
disappointment  overwhelms  me,  upsets  all  my  plans,  and  throws  me 
into  frightful  uncertainty  as  to  my  vocation,  the  direction  of  which 
I  do  not  see." 

Ten  months  elapsed  between  his  appointment  to  the  Chair  of  Com 
mercial  Law  and  the  opening  of  the  Course  of  Lectures  in  December, 
1839.  During  that  interval  invitations  came  to  him  from  Paris. 
Montalembert  would  have  been  glad  to  attach  him  to  the  editorial 


160  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

department  of  I'Univers  religieux,  which  was  then  sinking  under 
a  load  of  debt.  Ozanam  shrank  from  attaching  himself  to  what  he 
called  "  the  yoke  of  journalism."  Montalembert  insisted  :  "I  beg 
of  you  to  give  us  at  least  some  fragments  of  your  works,  some  chips 
of  the  statue  which  you  are  hewing  out.  I  demand,  as  a  friend,  that 
service  from  a  brother  in  arms,  on  whose  sympathy  I  rely,  as  you  have 
a  right  to  rely  on  me.  Good-bye.  I  leave  that  matter  to  your  con 
science  and  your  heart." 

It  is  also  the  duty  of  writing  that  Lacordaire  imposes  on  his  young 
friend  about  the  same  time.  ' '  You  must  not  give  up  the  pen.  Writing 
is,  indeed,  a  hard  calling,  but  the  Press  has  become  so  powerful  that 
we  cannot  abandon  it.  Let  us  write,  not  for  glory,  but  for  Jesus  Christ. 
Let  us  be  crucified  on  our  pen.  Even  if  no  one  will  read  what  you 
write  in  one  hundred  years'  time,  what  matter  ?  The  drop  of  water 
which  is  lost  in  the  sea  has  contributed  to  the  making  of  the  river, 
and  the  river  will  not  die  ...  As  for  you,  nothing  that  you  have 
written  need  discourage  you.  You  have  a  nervous,  brilliant  style, 
you  have  the  learning  to  support  it.  I  implore  of  you  to  work,  and 
if  I  were  the  director  of  your  conscience,  I  should  place  it  on  you  as  an 
obligation." 

Ozanam  therefore  was  to  write.  He  was  to  contribute  to  the  Catholic 
Press,  at  least  intermittently.  It  was  about  this  time  that  he  pub 
lished  a  series  of  articles  in  the  Univers  on  Protestanisme  dans  ses 
rapports  avec  la  liberte,  proving  that  Protestantism  in  fact,  and  from 
its  very  nature,  played  its  part  in  the  oppression  and  tyranny  over 
conscience,  wherever  the  independence  of  the  Catholic  faith  did  not 
defend  it.  That  article  appeared  at  the  moment  when  the  im 
prisonment  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne  caused  a  flutter  not  only 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  but  in  every  political  centre  in  Europe. 
Ozanam  had  a  good  opportunity  of  demonstrating  by  an  up-to-date 
example  the  offensive  alliance  of  heresy  and  tyranny  against  the 
Church,  who  was  the  sole  mother  and  guardian  of  true  liberty. 

Ozanam  was  also  to  lecture.  He  was  already  engaged  in  the  rapid 
preparation  of  his  course  of  Commercial  Law,  and  he  had  ideas 
of  enlarging  that  sphere  of  instruction  by  more  liberal  studies. 
"  If  God  gives  me  life  and  courage,"  he  wrote,  "and  if  He  assigns 
the  legal  profession  as  my  vocation,  I  should,  in  my  own  opinion,  do 
well  to  bring  my  personal  work  and  my  public  duties  into  harmony. 
A  Philosophy  of  Law  and  a  History  of  Law,  treated  from  the  Christian 


HIS    VOCATION  161 

standpoint,  would  fill  a  vast  void  in  science  and  would  occupy  the  rest 
of  my  life." 

But  would  studies  in  Literature,  Philosophy,  and  Jurisprudence 
suffice  to  fill  the  life  and  satisfy  the  heart  of  the  man,  who,  in  the  same 
letter,  assigned  to  young  men  the  duty  of  national  regeneration,  the 
reconciliation  of  the  classes,  and  the  triumph  of  the  justice  and  charity 
of  Christ  in  the  world  ?  Would  the  teaching  of  Commercial  Law,  even 
if  humanised,  elevated,  and  extended,  admit  of  such  possibilities  ? 

Ozanam  felt  himself  called  to  apostleship,  by  every  impulse  of  nature 
and  grace.  He  came  from  a  country  that  was  well  known  for  orators. 
He  possessed  in  a  very  marked  degree  the  gift  of  fluent  speech,  and 
his  speech  was  admittedly  more  moving  than  his  writing.  His  true 
place  was  not  at  the  Bar,  but  either  in  Parliament  or  in  the  Professor's 
Chair.  How  much  more  in  the  latter,  for  his  speech,  though  lay,  had 
already  the  sound  of  the  Sacred  Word  !  He  was,  above  all,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  an  apostle.  He  had  the  apostle's  zeal,  ardour,  charity, 
and  tenderness  with  which  to  overcome  every  difficulty.  He  was 
equally  consumed  by  the  desire  to  preach  the  truth  and  to  save  souls. 

A  high  call  from  Heaven  seemed  therefore  to  come  to  him,  through 
his  piety,  through  his  tender  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  through  his 
desire  to  imitate  Him  in  his  perfection.  It  came  to  him  through  the 
immaculate  purity  of  his  whole  life,  and  through  the  high  ideal  which 
he  held  of  such  perfect  purity  in  a  young  man.  For  example,  he  had 
written  a  few  months  previously  to  dissuade  Lallier  from  early  marriage. 
Lallier  was  one  year  his  junior  :  "  My  dear  friend,  to  unfold  my  whole 
thoughts  to  thee,  is  virginity  a  virtue  for  women  alone  ?  Is  it  not, 
on  the  contrary,  that  which  constitutes  one  of  the  chief  glories  of  the 
Humanity  of  our  Saviour  ?  Is  it  not  that  which  He  cherished  especially 
in  His  well-beloved  disciple  ?  Is  it  not  the  choicest  bloom  in  the  garden 
of  the  Church  ?  Do  you  not  feel  pain  at  seeing  it  fade  before  the 
noontide  hour  ?  Would  you  not  be  glad  to  carry  it  to  Heaven,  if 
you  had  been  called  thither  in  the  years  preceding  maturity  ?" 

While  the  matter  of  his  appointment  to  the  Chair  of  Law  was  under 
consideration  in  1837  he  placed  the  problem  before  himself  of  a  life 
in  the  world  or  elsewhere :  "  It  seems  to  me,"  he  wrote  on  the  5th 
October,  "  that  the  success  or  failure  of  this  affair,  will  decide  whether 
I  am  to  live  in  the  world,  or  whether  I  shall  quit  it  as  soon  as  the  course 
of  events  has  set  me  free  ?  You  will  thus  understand  the  boldness 
of  my  dreams  and  the  sacred  soil  over  which  they  are  hovering  !  I 

L 


162  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

do  indeed  desire  the  lot  of  those  who  devote  themselves  altogether 
to  God  and  humanity." 

What  religious  Order  was  the  object  of  that  holy  desire  ?  Circum 
stances  fixed  the  direction.  On  the  Qth  February  the  Abbe  Lacordaire 
acquainted  Ozanam  of  his  intention  of  entering  the  Dominican  Order. 
He  informed  him  of  the  date  of  his  departure  for  Rome,  and  of  his 
arrival  and  stay  in  Lyons.  He  asked  him  to  reserve  three  places  for 
himself  and  two  friends  in  the  diligence :  "  We  shall  leave  Paris  on 
Thursday  the  yth  March,  the  feast  of  St.  Thomas  Acquinas.  We  shall 
arrive  in  Lyons  on  Sunday  the  loth.  We  shall  leave  for  Milan  on 
Tuesday  the  I2th  by  the  Bonafous  diligence,  three,  not  more,  in  num 
ber.  I  shall  be  delighted  to  see  you  again,  you  and  all  your  friends. 
I  hope  that  you  will  help  us  to  make  the  pilgrimages  that  every  fervent 
Catholic  should  make  in  Lyons." 

The  Abbe  Lacordaire's  journey  to  Rome  had  been  preceded  by  his 
Memoire  sur  le  Retablissement  de  I'Ordre  des  Freres  Precheurs  en  France, 
which  had  been  also  a  voice  calling  to  Ozanam's  spirit.  The 
re-establishment  was  a  revival  from  out  the  Middle  Ages,  that  same 
I3th  century  that  Ozanam  had  glorified  a  short  time  previously. 
During  Ozanam's  student  years  in  Paris,  the  Abbe  Lacordaire  had 
been  not  only  one  of  his  models,  but  also  one  of  the  most  lovable  per 
sonages  in  his  life.  He  called  him  the  "  Peter  the  Hermit  "  of  the 
new  religious  crusade.  He  hastened  therefore,  to  gather  together  the 
young  men  of  the  Lyons  Conferences  to  listen  to  that  eloquent  voice, 
for,  alas  !  perhaps  the  last  time. 

One  who  was  present  records  that  "  it  was  a  solemn  and  a  touching 
meeting.  Lacordaire  himself  was  deeply  affected,  and  showed  it 
in  his  address.  He  spoke  simply  and  familiarly  as  a  brother  to  brothers. 
He  unfolded  the  aim  of  his  work,  which  was  not  yet  fully  understood. 
He  spoke  of  St.  Dominic  and  of  the  mission  of  the  Friar  Preachers, 
whose  Rule  he  was  going  to  embrace.  He  urged  the  necessity  of  re 
calling  the  Religious  Orders  to  France.  He  expressed  especially  his 
friendship  for  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  the  birth  of  which 
he  had  witnessed.  He  concluded  by  asking  their  prayers  for  himself 
and  for  his  young  companions,  whom,  it  was  said,  he  had  saved  from 
Carbonarism.  Hippolyte  Requedat,  one  of  them,  was  by  his  side. 
Such  an  address  and  such  a  sight  were  never  to  leave  the  hearts  of 
the  young  men  present,  and  every  eye  was  wet  with  tears." 

This  interview  sent  a  ray  of  light  and  hope  into  Ozanam's  heart. 


LACORDAIRE  AND   OZANAM  163 

A  short  time  after  he  had  arrived  in  Rome  and  had  been  clothed  in 
the  habit  of  St.  Dominic,  Pere  Lacordaire  wrote  to  his  young  friend 
a  letter  full  of  pleasant  news,  telling  him  of  the  welcome  of  the  Holy 
Father,  of  the  happiness  of  his  vocation  and  of  his  new  life.  He  made 
no  allusion  to  the  possibility  of  a  like  grace  for  his  correspondent. 
His  discretion  was  wise.  Ozanam  finished  a  letter  on  the  26th  August, 
in  reply  to  the  great  novice  in  Rome,  with  the  following  overtures : 
"  I  feel  more  than  ever  the  need  for  such  religious  guidance  as  would 
compensate  for  my  weakness  and  free  me  from  my  responsibilities. 
To  speak  quite  frankly,  when  I  behold  the  illness  of  my  mother  making 
sad  progress,  and  when  the  possibility  of  such  a  terrible  loss  presents 
itself  to  my  mind,  I  do  not  see  any  further  reason  why  I  should  remain 
in  a  position,  to  which  a  sense  of  duty  alone  holds  me.  It  is  then 
that  the  uncertainty  of  my  vocation  becomes  more  disquieting  than 
ever.  I  commend  to  the  charity  of  your  prayers  the  ulterior  suffer 
ing  with  which  I  am  long  troubled.  If  God  should  deign  to  call 
me  to  His  service,  I  do  not  know  of  any  army  in  which  I  should  serve 
with  greater  pleasure  than  yours."  In  reference  to  which,  he  "  desired 
to  see  in  advance  the  Rule  of  the  Friar  Preachers  to  help,  in  con 
junction  with  the  advice  of  his  confessor,  in  making  up  his  mind  in 
the  matter." 

In  a  reply  dated  2nd  October  Lacordaire,  not  being  able  to  forward 
the  text  of  the  Rule,  described  its  spirit  and  aim  :  preaching  and  reli 
gious  knowledge  the  means  :  prayer,  mortification  of  the  senses  and  study  : 
much  comprised  in  a  few  words  :  "As  soon  as  we  shall  have  a  novitiate, 
a  week  spent  among  us  will  tell  you  more  than  a  dozen  volumes."  He 
spoke  of  the  complete  observance  of  the  Rule  to  which  he  and  his 
brothers  have  bound  themselves :  "  When  we  become  religious,  it 
is  with  the  intention  of  being  wholeheartedly  so."  He  concluded  with 
these  words  :  "  Kindest  regards  and  best  wishes,  coupled  with  the  ardent 
desire  of  one  day  addressing  you  as  Brother  and  Father." 

Ozanam's  mother  died  within  a  fortnight  of  the  date  of  that  letter. 
There  is  a  short  reference  to  it  in  some  lines,  dated  the  I2th  October. 
Ozanam  wrote  that  "  his  mother's  death  threw  him  into  a  state  of 
doubt  and  uncertainty  about  his  vocation  that  was  torture  "  ;  and 
added  simply  :  "  I  received  the  day  before  yesterday  a  letter  from  the 
Abbe  Lacordaire.  He  continues  to  be  pleased  with  the  Order  of  St. 
Dominic  and  is  full  of  glorious  hope." 

We  must  now  pass  on  two  months  later  to  Christmas,  to  find  a  fur- 


164  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

ther  mention  of  the  idea  of  a  religious  life  ;  but  now  the  reference  is 
less  hopeful.  The  following  lines  are  addressed  to  Lallier :  "  The 
Abbe  Lacordaire  will  be  back  in  France  in  a  few  months.  If  former 
inclinations  have  developed  into  a  genuine  vocation  I  shall  try  to 
follow  it.  My  difficulties  are  very  great." 

The  last  reference  occurs  in  the  following  spring  :  "  I  prefer  to  wait. 
I  do  indeed  owe  a  year's  uninterrupted  mourning  to  my  mother's 
memory.  That  will  give  me  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Abbe  Lacor 
daire  on  his  return  from  Rome,  and  of  making  doubly  sure  if  Provi 
dence  deigns  to  open  the  portals  of  the  Dominican  Order  to  me.  During 
that  period  I  desire,  by  more  religious  conduct  and  more  austere 
habits,  to  win  some  right  to  guidance  from  on  high,  some  control 
over  my  passions  here  below.  I  ask  for  my  friends'  prayers  in  matters 
of  such  critical  importance." 

At  the  close  of  the  year's  mourning,  reflection,  the  course  of  events, 
and  the  assurance  of  the  Abbe  Noirot,  that  he  was  not  fitted  for  a 
monastic  life,  as  well  as  the  idea  of  a  great  personal  lay  mission,  decided 
Ozanam  to  remain  in  the  world.  The  most  weighty  of  the  many 
private  and  domestic  reasons  which  held  him  back  was,  that  he  was 
not  morally  free  to  enter  religion,  as  he  had  contracted  an  indissoluble 
bond  with  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  It  was  to  it  that 
he  was  to  devote  himself,  it  was  for  it  that  he  was  to  remain  in  the 
world,  to  organise  and  extend  it  in  the  secular  domain,  in  which  he 
had  brought  it  into  being.  A  work  of  apostolate,  but  of  lay  apostolate, 
which  was  also  sacred,  and  the  abandonment  of  which  would  be  treason  ; 
more  particularly  at  the  moment  when  he,  though  distant  from  Paris, 
was  still  the  guiding  spirit  and  the  driving  force. 

It  was  indeed  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  that  Ozanam  put 
before  Pere  Lacordaire,  in  answer  to  the  invitation  which  the  latter 
gave  him,  to  try  the  novitiate  at  la  Quercia  :  "  The  little  Society  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  sees  its  ranks  extending  in  a  most  surprising 
way.  A  new  conference  has  been  formed  of  the  pupils  of  the 
Normal  and  Polytechnic  schools  ;  fifteen  young  men,  about  one  third 
of  that  college  of  the  University,  asked  to  be  allowed  as  a  privilege 
to  spend  two  hours  every  Sunday,  their  only  free  day,  engaged  with 
God  and  His  poor.  Paris  will  have  fourteen  Conferences  this  coming 
year.  There  will  be  an  equal  number  in  the  provinces.  The  member 
ship  counts  more  than  one  thousand  Catholics,  who  are  eager  to  press 
on  to  the  intellectual  crusade,  which  you  are  preaching."  If  Pere 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  SOCIETY  165 

Lacordaire  was  indeed  the  Peter  the  Hermit  of  the  Crusade,  was  not 
Ozanam  its  Godfrey  de  Bouillon  ? 

Ozanam  was  able  to  bear  witness  a  little  later,  in  the  year  1840, 
to  an  increase  which  doubled  the  membership  just  quoted :  "On  the 
second  Sunday  after  Easter,  one  of  the  feasts  of  the  Society,  finding 
myself  in  Paris,  I  was  privileged  to  see  it  assembled  in  the  fulness  of 
its  development.  I  saw  gathered  together  in  its  meeting  hall  more 
than  600  members,  and  that  number  did  not  exhaust  the  total  member 
ship  in  Paris.  The  main  body  is  composed,  it  is  true,  of  poor  students 
joined  by  some  of  those  in  high  social  position.  I  rubbed  against  a 
Peer  of  France,  a  Deputy,  a  Councillor  of  State,  several  generals,  and 
distinguished  authors.  I  counted  25  pupils  out  of  75  of  the  Normal 
School,  10  of  the  Polytechnic,  one  or  two  of  the  Staff  school.  In  the 
morning,  upwards  of  150  members  received  Holy  Communion  at  the 
foot  of  the  Shrine  of  our  holy  patron.  Correspondence  was  received 
from  more  than  15  cities  in  France,  which  possess  flourishing  con 
ferences.  An  almost  equal  number  have  been  established  this  year. 
We  number  now  nearly  2,000  young  men,  working  in  this  peaceable 
crusade  of  Catholic  charity." 

Ozanam  expressed  not  only  his  joy  at  such  wonderful  progress, 
but  also  a  sense  of  the  responsibility  which  this  charitable  activity 
would  place  on  the  shoulders  of  him  and  his  colleagues,  "  of  becoming 
mediators  between  the  two  camps  of  society,  of  counselling  resigna 
tion  in  the  one  and  mercy  in  the  other.  The  word  of  command  should 
be  :  Reconciliation  and  love." 

In  Lyons,  the  very  difficulties  which  the  activities  of  the  two  con 
ferences  had  to  encounter,  were  a  sufficient  reason  why  he  should 
not  abandon  the  struggle,  however  inefficient  he  might  regard  himself 
as  leader :  "  I  perceive  quite  well,"  he  wrote,  "  that  I  require  an 
amount  of  energy  and  of  freedom  of  mind,  which  neither  my  business 
nor  my  temperament  confers,  to  fulfil  all  my  duties.  Nevertheless, 
conditions  exist  which  prevent  me  from  resigning  a  presidency,  even  if 
I  fill  it  badly."  Those  conditions  were  such  as  forbid  a  commander 
to  desert  on  the  field  of  battle. 

The  winter  of  1840  drew  those  bonds  tighter  by  the  very  necessities 
of  the  laborious  task.  "  The  extraordinary  needs  of  this  winter," 
he  wrote,  "  have  multiplied  the  activities  of  our  members.  We  are 
progressing  in  the  art  of  dispossessing  the  rich  for  the  benefit  of  the 
poor.  Many  of  our  members  have  offered  their  services  to  help  young 


166  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

discharged  prisoners.  That  best  of  men,  La  Perriere,  is  engaged  in 
founding  a  Preventive  Home.  But  how  paltry  are  those  efforts,  face 
to  face  with  a  population  of  60,000  workers,  demoralised  by  want  and 
by  the  spread  of  false  doctrines  !  Freemasonry  and  republicanism 
exploit  the  misery  and  the  anger  of  the  suffering  multitude.  God 
alone  knows  what  future  awaits  us,  if  Catholic  charity  does  not  inter 
vene  in  time  to  stop  this  slave  war  at  our  very  gates." 

A  little  later  Ozanam  obtained  the  honour  and  encouragement  of 
a  fiery  cross  for  the  Conference.  It  came  from  Monsignor  Dupuch, 
Bishop  of  Algiers,  "  who  sets  souls  on  fire."  Two  months  later  "  the 
circulation  of  good  literature  among  the  soldiers,  and  the  caring  of 
young  apprentices  is  going  on  splendidly."  But  what  most  of  all 
rejoiced  his  Christian  heart  was  the  piety  which  Lyons  displayed  in  the 
processions  of  Corpus  Christi:  "Lyons  is  completely  in  the  odour  of 
sanctity  these  days,"  he  wrote  in  June.  "  We  have  just  completed 
our  processions,  which  were  magnificent.  They  have  had  a  splendid 
reception  from  the  people." 

A  general  intellectual  movement  developed  in  Lyons  pari  passu 
with  the  movement  of  piety  and  charity.  Ozanam  described  it  to 
Lacordaire  in  the  following  terms  : — "A  happy  change  is  taking  place 
here  in  the  minds  of  men.  The  three  faculties  of  Theology,  Science 
and  Literature,  which  have  been  established  lately,  have  awakened, 
even  with  their  imperfect  instruction,  the  taste  for  speculative  studies, 
which  the  material  preoccupations  of  our  fellow-citizens  seemed  to 
have  stifled.  The  number  of  the  clergy  is  increasing  who  perceive 
that  virtue,  without  scientific  training,  will  not  suffice  for  the  priestly 
ministry." 

The  nomination  of  Ozanam  to  the  Chair  of  the  Law  of  Commerce 
fell  in  with  this  general  intellectual  movement.  It  furnished  matter 
for  the  following  closing  lines  of  his  answer  to  Lacordaire  :  "As  for 
me,  a  simple  witness  of  so  many  events  full  of  hope  for  the  future, 
here  I  am,  settled  in  the  post  which  I  had  long  desired.  I  am 
Professor  of  the  Law  of  Commerce  and  I  revel  in  a  work  which 
attaches  me  to  Lyons,  and  which  does  not  prevent  the  gratification 
of  my  unfortunate  taste  for  philosophical  and  literary  studies.  I 
am  always  afraid  of  spending  time  in  those  pursuits  which  I  could 
employ  more  quietly  and  more  surely  for  my  own  salvation,  and  in 
the  service  of  my  neighbour."  Were  not  those  last  words  a  regretful 
farewell  to  the  cloister,  his  Paradise  Lost  ? 


OPENING   LECTURE  167 

It  was  on  the  i6th  December,  1839  that  Professor  Ozanam  delivered 
his  opening  lecture  of  the  Commercial  Law  Course,  with  a  success 
which  he  communicated  to  his  dear  friend,  Pessonneaux,  in  the  fol 
lowing  terms : — "It  would  appear  that  the  course  of  lectures  in  the 
Law  of  Commerce  is  likely  to  succeed.  An  immense  crowd  attended 
the  opening  lecture.  Doors  and  windows  were  broken.  Even  then 
the  hall  continued  to  overflow,  and  it  holds  250.  I  allowed  myself 
any  historical  and  philosophical  digression  that  the  subject  permitted, 
and  I  did  not  fail  at  the  same  time  to  raise  a  laugh  wherever  possible  ; 
as  de  Maistre  says,  one  makes  the  other  go.' 

It  was,  indeed,  as  a  philosopher  and  a  historian  that  he  sketched  in 
his  first  lecture  the  subject  matter  of  the  course.  He  outlined  the 
general  idea,  the  different  view  points  and  the  spirit  which  should 
guide  the  study  of  the  subject.  He  did  not  fail  in  the  Christian  duty 
of  placing  the  Law  of  God  at  the  source  of  all  justice,  the  acid  test 
of  the  just  and  unjust.  "  When  therefore  jurisprudence  refers  us  to 
Moral  Law  as  supreme,  we  shall  not  be  surprised.  We  shall  consult 
that  Law  alone  which,  from  the  dawn  of  the  world,  has  visited  man  in 
the  secret  recesses  of  his  conscience,  and  which  for  1800  years,  being 
promulgated  anew  with  added  solemnity,  continues  to  direct  un 
flinchingly  every  development  of  modern  civilisation." 

Of  all  the  noble  emotions  which  dwelt  in  the  soul  of  Ozanam,  the 
one,  which  he  succeeded  in  evoking  on  that  first  day,  was  civic 
pride  in  the  sketch  which  he  gave  of  the  commercial  supremacy  of 
Lyons  in  the  early  ages.  But  what  he  came  to  teach  was,  neither 
history,  nor  philosophy,  but  Law,  the  Law  of  Commerce,  not  merely 
in  theory,  but  in  its  actual  positive  practical  application. 

Such  was  indeed  clear.  The  first  year's  course  of  forty  seven  lectures 
and  notes  have  come  down  to  us.  They  have  been  published,  thanks 
to  M.  Theophile  Foisset,  advocate  in  the  Court  of  Appeal  in  Dijon, 
and  they  amazed  that  eminent  jurisconsult.  "  When  the  young 
Professor  of  26  years  of  age  occupied  the  Chair  of  Law,  which  had  just 
been  founded  for  him,  he  was  equipped  at  all  points,  not  only  in  philo 
sophy  and  history,  but  in  the  positive  theory  of  that  part  of  know 
ledge,  which  it  was  his  duty  to  teach.  He  was  equally  at  home  in 
the  jurisprudence  of  legal  judgments.  But  fully  alive  to  the  true  work 
of  a  professor  he  did  not  lose  himself  in  interminable  discussions  on 
debateable  points.  He  preferred  to  enunciate  principles  rather  than 
doubts,  to  instil  rules  of  Law,  to  indicate  the  wisdom  in  Law  rather 


168  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

than  to  initiate  his  audience  into  the  double  scandal — those  are  his 
own  words — of  the  obscurity  of  Law  and  the  inconsistency  of  legal 
judgments.  What  elevation  and  what  breadth  of  mind  in  those 
notes ;  what  an  extended  range  of  vision  over  the  broad  outlines  of 
the  subject  !  The  true  Ozanam  is  to  be  found  there,  his  scientific 
erudition,  his  penetrating  mind,  his  true  heart,  his  lofty  conscience, 
even  some  flashes  of  his  eloquence.  All  is  present,  just  as  the  fruit 
is  in  the  flower." 

Ozanam  was  not  so  laudatory  when  speaking  of  his  first  lectures, 
and  of  the  reception  which  they  had  received.     "  Happily  for  me,  the 
friendship  which  busies  itself  in  ensuring  success,  the  respect  of  a  large 
number  of  fellow-citizens  for  the  name  of  my  father,  and,  above  all 
and  beyond  all  God,  who  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  spared 
me  the  humiliation  of  failure.     There  was  nothing  wanting  to  success, 
but  the  absence  of  those  for  whose  happiness  I  had  so  long  desired  it." 
At  the  same  time  Ozanam,  well  in  advance  of  University  ideas, 
wrote  in  1840  in  le  Contemporain  an  important  memoir  on  Special 
Higher  Instruction.     He  insisted  that  changes  in  social  and  economic 
conditions  demanded  such  higher  teaching  for  young  men  intended 
for  industry  and  commerce,  as  would  correspond  to  the  traditional 
classical  education  available  for  the  liberal  professions.     "  That  would 
mean,"  in  his  noble  words,  "  that  industry  would  receive  formally 
the  consecration  of  Science  ;  without  leaving  the  position  in  the  social 
scale   assigned   to  it   by   God,  it  would  mean  rising  from  villeinage 
and  becoming  ennobled  by  a  public  alliance  with  higher  intellectual 
discipline."     M.  Augustin  Cochin  drew  attention  later  to  the  precocious 
wisdom  and  profound  practical  common  sense  of  those  views,  which 
-  were  inspired  by  the  desire  for  the  uplifting  of  the  masses  :  "  Ozanam's 
desires  and  views  have  forestalled  the  policies  of  governments  and  of 
ministers.     He  is  a  precursor." 

While  giving  himself  to  Law,  because  his  duty  lay  there,  Ozanam 
did  not  surrender  himself  wholly.  He  could  not  be  unmindful  that, 
in  nominating  him  to  that  Chair  on  the  6th  July  1839,  M.  Cousin, 
Minister  for  Education,  had  added  the  following  lines :  "  I  should  have 
liked  to  have  seen  you  in  my  regiment,  but  I  do  not  despair.  I  am 
sure,  in  any  case,  that,  with  me  or  without  me,  you  will  always  love 
and  serve  true  philosophy.  Do  not  altogether  forget  me,  for  you  will 
always  find  a  friend  in  me.' 

He  wrote  as  follows,  after  the  death  of  Ozanam's  mother,  on  the 


CHAIR  OF  FOREIGN  LITERATURE  169 

8th  of  January  1840  :  "  You  are  now  freer,  you  will  find  me  when  you 
want  me.  Let  me  know  what  you  are  doing,  your  work,  your  business, 
and  the  present  state  of  the  good  cause,  Philosophy,  in  Lyons.  Kind 
est  regards  and  best  wishes." 

M.  Soulacroix,  the  Rector  of  the  Lyons  Academy,  equally  kind  and 
sympathetic,  who  was  well  aware  of  Ozanam's  preference  for  Litera 
ture,  but  who,  on  the  other  hand,  was  very  anxious  to  retain  his  ser 
vices  in  the  city,  had  thought  of  a  plan  to  bind  him  more  closely  to 
Lyons.  That  was  by  assigning  to  him,  in  addition  to  his  municipal 
course  of  the  Law  of  Commerce,  the  Chair  of  Foreign  Literature  in 
the  Faculty  of  Arts,  which  had  just  been  founded.  It  was  rilled  by 
Edgar  Quinet,  but  he  was  nominated  for  the  College  of  France.  In 
this  way  the  dryness  of  Law  would  be  relieved  by  the  charm  of  polite 
literature,  and  the  modesty  of  the  salary  of  one  of  the  Chairs  would 
be  made  good  by  the  added  remuneration  of  the  other.—  "  That  would 
be  plurality  of  office,"  Ozanam  explained  to  his  friend,  "  does  not 
the  word  scandalise  you  ?  If  only  the  head  and  heart  would  stand 
the  strain  !  Also  would  the  Minister  agree  ?" 

Ozanam  wrote  about  the  matter  to  Jean-Jacques  Ampere  on  the 
2ist  February,  1840.  He  informed  him,  whom  he  as  yet  addressed 
formally,  of  the  excellent  reception  and  results  of  the  first  seventeen 
lectures  on  the  Law  of  Commerce.  He  admitted  that  "  natural 
instinct  and  his  own  tastes  enkindle  other  ambitions."  But  in  order 
to  live  he  was  obliged  to  establish  a  connection  and  to  fling  himself 
into  business  matters,  renouncing  all  thought  of  intellectual  work — 
a  bad  passion,  perhaps,  but  one  which  he  could  not  hope  to  cure." 

He  wrote  :  "  M.  Quinet  is  leaving  us  at  Easter.  The  Chair  of  Foreign 
Literature,  popularised  by  his  genius,  is  now  sufficiently  established 
in  the  public  favour  to  risk  the  introduction  of  lectures  which  will 
be  less  brilliant  but  perhaps  more  informing."  A  child  of  Italy  by 
birth,  knowing  German,  reading  Spanish  and  English  fairly  well, 
holding  the  attention  of  a  sympathetic  public,  what  could  Ozanam 
lack  to  replace  Quinet  adequately  in  the  Chair  of  Foreign  Literature  ? 
Nothing,  but  Quinet's  revolutionary  views  and  irreligious  tendencies. 
Was  that  the  difficulty  about  his  nomination  ?  Was  it  a  Christian 
that  was  opposed  !  Ozanam  wrote  :  "  I  know  that  they  have  can 
vassed  strongly  against  me.  My  political  views,  my  religious  con 
victions  have  been  quoted  against  me.  Is  it  possible  that  those  con 
victions  would  close  the  doors  of  the  Faculty  of  Arts  to  me  !  Frankly, 


170  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

I  am  beginning  to  fear  what  I  could  not  hitherto  have  believed 
possible." 

But  on  the  question  of  religious  faith,  the  Christian  declares  himself 
absolutely  immovable  at  all  costs.  "  Very  well,"  continues  his  letter 
to  M.  Ampere,  "  if  a  decree  of  ostracism  is  to  be  pronounced  against 
Catholics,  it  will  be  well  to  proclaim  it  once  and  for  all.  They 
will  be  warned  in  good  time,  and  I  shall  no  longer  follow  the  will  of 
the  wisp  of  foolish  illusions.  Scrutinising  more  closely  my  aptitudes 
and  my  hidden  desires,  I  shall  either  surrender  myself  to  the  ordinary 
duties  of  daily  life,  endeavouring  to  forget  the  dreams  of  deluded 
youth  ;  or  if  I  do  really  feel  within  me  the  call  to  an  intellectual  voca 
tion  that  will  not  be  denied,  then  I  shall  seek  in  the  cloisters  of  St. 
Dominic  or  St.  Benedict,  what  God  and  humanity  never  refuse  to 
those  who  labour  in  their  service,  liberty  and  bread.  Many  have 
already  made  that  choice,  and  it  must  not  be  said  that  they  have  de 
serted  the  sacred  post  of  public  life.  They  cannot  be  accused  of  fleeing 
from  the  work  of  the  Universities  because  that  work  was  distasteful. 
When  one  knocks  at  a  portal  and  the  portal  is  not  raised,  or  is  raised 
in  such  a  way  that  one  cannot  enter  without  stooping,  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  one  remains  without." 

Were  the  contents  of  that  letter  brought  under  the  notice  of  the 
Minister  by  Ampere  ?  Whether  they  were  or  not,  his  assurance  on 
the  subject  was  quite  formal :  "  You  can  count  on  me.  When  you 
will  be  able  to  return  you  will  find  me."  Ozanam  was  at  that  time 
in  Paris.  He  saw  M.  Cousin,  who  received  him  very  graciously, 
invited  him  to  dinner,  made  himself  acquainted  with  his  plans  for 
the  future,  and  promised  him  M.  Quinet's  chair  for  the  following  year. 
But  he  imposed  one  condition,  viz.,  that  he  would  present  himself  for 
a  competition  which  he  had  just  established  for  the  Chair  of  Foreign 
Literature  in  the  Sorbonne.  The  date  for  it  was  fixed  for  September. 
Ozanam  had  thus  only  five  or  six  months  for  preparation  ;  his  competi 
tors  had  already  been  working  for  it  for  more  than  a  year  !  "  Oh  ! 
it  is  not,"  said  Cousin,  "  that  you  can  hope  for  success  ;  but  I  am 
anxious  that  the  first  competition  should  be  brilliant,  and  that  the 
flower  of  the  young  men  of  genius  should  compete.  Do  me  that  favour! 
You  will  afterwards  be  appointed  to  Lyons,  no  matter  what  the  result." 

It  is  nothing  short  of  a  miracle  that  in  less  than  six  months  Ozanam 
managed  to  cull  the  flowers  of  three  classical  and  four  foreign  literatures. 
It  caused  him  pain  "  that  he  was  only  able  to  pass  by  such  admirable 


THE  CONCURSUS  171 

things  at  full  speed."  He  had  to  pluck  with  a  hasty  hand  the  per 
fection  of  poetic  beauty  even  at  the  risk  of  crushing  or  spoiling  it. 
He  was  forced  to  make  a  bunch  instead  of  a  wreath.  He  sacrificed 
a  trip  to  Switzerland  and  to  Germany,  which  he  had  long  looked 
forward  to,  for  those  exhausting  studies.  He  laid  on  himself  the  extra 
burden  of  eighteen  hours  work  a  day,  without  prejudice  to  his  own 
course  or  to  his  other  works.  "  All  my  minutes  are  so  crowded,"  he 
confessed,  "  that  I  run  the  risk  of  losing  my  senses  if  God  does  not 
come  to  my  aid."  I  said  "  without  prejudice  to  his  other  works." 
Will  it  be  believed  that  in  those  crowded  hours  the  indefatigable  worker 
found  time  each  evening  to  instruct  soldiers  in  writing  and  arithmetic  ? 

He  came  up  to  the  competitive  examination  on  the  date  appointed, 
after  three  days  journey  almost  without  sleep,  emaciated  and  feverish, 
full  of  courage,  but  without  hope  of  success.  Seven  competitors 
presented  themselves,  who  were  already  well  known  as  Professors 
in  the  Colleges  in  Paris,  where  they  had  been  for  years  within  easy 
reach  of  original  documents. 

The  long  series  of  tests  opened.  The  written  compositions  consisted 
of  one  thesis  in  Latin  and  one  in  French,  each  occupying  eight  hours. 
The  thesis  in  Latin  treated  of  "  The  causes  which  arrested  the  develop 
ment  of  the  Tragedy  in  Roman  Literature."  The  thesis  in  French  on 
the  following  day  dealt  with  The  historical  value  of  Bossuet's  Oraisons 
funebres.  Ozanam  knew  how  they  should  be  treated  ;  but  not  having 
had  sufficient  time,  and  being  accustomed  to  polish  his  drafts  at  his 
leisure,  he  was  only  able  to  rough  out  two  drafts,  and  even  these  he 
had  to  drop  at  the  last  moment.  He  would  have  withdrawn  from  the 
contest  in  despair,  if  his  friend  Ampere  had  not  passed  a  note  to  him 
on  his  blotting  pad  to  the  effect  that  all  was  not  lost.  The  contrary, 
indeed,  was  the  fact.  Three  days  examination  on  Latin,  Greek,  and 
French  texts  followed,  of  three  hours  each.  Those  days  were  in  his 
favour.  Another  full  day  was  devoted  to  the  German,  English, 
Italian,  and  Spanish  Literatures.  Ozanam  was  the  only  candidate 
who  presented  this  optional  part  of  the  programme.  Schiller,  Klop- 
stock,  Shakespeare,  Dante,  Calderon,  helped  in  different  degrees, 
but  all  helped. 

There  remained  for  each  of  the  competitors  two  theses  to  present, 
on  subjects  which  were  drawn  by  lot,  one  a  day,  the  other  an  hour  in 
advance.  Through  ill-luck  a  seemingly  impossible  subject  fell  to 
Ozanam's  lot,  "  The  History  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  Scholiasts."  The 


172  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

public  laughed  and  Ozanam  gave  himself  up  for  lost.  A  drier  or  more 
unattractive  piece  of  philological  treatment  could  not  be  imagined. 
One  of  his  rivals,  M.  Emile  Egger,  with  a  fine  sense  of  chivalry  and 
generosity,  lent  him  excellent  books  dealing  with  the  subject.  Ozanam, 
nevertheless,  after  a  night's  thought  and  a  day's  torture,  arrived,  more 
dead  than  alive,  at  the  hour  fixed  for  the  resumption  of  the  examina 
tion. 

He  placed  all  his  confidence  in  God,  and  he  never  acquitted  himself 
better.  He  discussed  the  scholiasts.  He  spoke  of  their  services : 
'  The  scholiasts,  whom  ignorant  commentators  represent  as  so  many 
worms  gnawing  at  the  manuscripts  of  the  past,  are  on  the  contrary, 
exactly  those  who  have  kept  intact  the  purity  of  texts,  have  thrown 
light  on  dark  passages  and  preserved  traditional  usage.  It  is  to  them 
that  we  are  indebted  for  being  now  able  to  read  the  works  of  those 
great  men,  who  were  their  masters  as  well  as  ours."  He  gave  a  dis 
sertation  on  this  subject  which  lasted  for  two  hours  ;  he  spoke  with 
a  mastery,  a  certainty,  and  an  ease  that  astonished  himself.  He 
delivered  it  all  with  a  charming  style  of  elocution,  which  gained  him 
the  sympathy  of  the  examiners,  the  admiration  of  the  audience,  and 
even  the  good-will  of  the  Parisian  professors.  These  latter  had  been 
hitherto  unfriendly  to  the  provincial  intruder,  who  had  come  to 
challenge  and  even  to  wrest  from  the  College  the  palm  of  victory, 
which  it  regarded  as  its  own  by  right. 

Ozanam  was  awarded  First  place  as  a  result  of  the  examination, 
without  having  to  call  on  the  marks  awarded  to  Foreign  Literature, 
his  optional  subject.  Those  who  came  next  were  Messieurs  Egger 
and  Berger — two  names  dear  to  Literature.  The  examining  board 
included  M.  le  Clerc,  who  presided,  M.  Alexander,  examiner  in  Greek 
Language  and  Literature,  M.  Patin  in  Latin  Language  and  Literature, 
M.  Fauriel  in  the  four  foreign  languages,  and  M.  Ampere,  Professor 
of  French  Literature  in  the  College  of  France.  He,  next  to  Ozanam, 
rejoiced  most  in  the  triumph. 

The  report  of  the  presiding  examiner  to  the  Minister  for  Education, 
dated  3rd  October,  1840,  concluded  as  follows  :  "  M.  Ozanam,  by  his 
extensive  knowledge  of  classical  literature,  by  his  grasp  of  an  author 
and  treatment  of  a  thesis,  by  the  clarity  of  his  commentary  and  the 
breadth  of  his  general  plan,  by  the  boldness  of  his  views,  by  his  language 
breathing  originality,  logic  and  imagination,  seemed  to  be  eminently 
suited  for  a  public  Professorship.  The  competition,  which  has  been 


HIS  CHRISTIAN  VIEWS  173 

inaugurated  by  you,  and  which  opens  a  new  era  for  the  Faculties> 
will  not  be  surpassed  in  brilliancy  for  many  years." 

The  freedom  with  which  Ozanam  had  professed  Christian  views  had 
been  the  subject  of  much  comment  during  the  examination.  When 
considering  Montesquieu  and  I' Esprit  des  lois  he  had  quoted  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas'  definition  of  a  Law  ;  in  his  literary  critique  of  the  age  of 
Louis  XIV,  he  launched  forth  against  the  Jansenist  school  and  its 
fatal  influence  on  French  poetry.  He  showed  himself  particularly 
imbued  with  religious  admiration  for  St.  Francis  de  Sales  :  and  that 
without  being  the  least  concerned  what  such  and  such  a  one  of  his 
examiners,  who  might  not  be  familiar  with  La  Vie  devote,  would  think. 

He  explained  how  he  felt  to  his  brother,  who  furnishes  the  des 
cription  :  '  Fully  satisfied  that  my  preparation  was  incomplete,  and 
that  there  could  not  be  any  question  of  my  success,  as  M.  Cousin  had 
said  to  me,  I  presented  myself  for  the  Competition  with  the  feelings 
of  one  who  has  nothing  to  lose  and  nobody  to  conciliate.  I  could 
then  be  myself,  free  to  utter  my  true  sentiments.  I  was  thus  able  to 
speak  more  boldly  and  to  express  my  Christian  views  in  a  more 
challenging  fashion.  For  a  moment  I  was  startled  at  my  daring.  I 
thought  I  had  gone  too  far.  Fortunately  the  effect  was  credited  to 
the  warmth  of  my  convictions.  Persuaded  to  the  very  end  that 
there  was  not  any  question  of  fighting  for  victory,  as  M.  Cousin  had 
already  advised  me,  I  was  all  the  freer  to  fight  for  honour  ;  and  first 
of  all  for  the  honour  of  God.  All  else  was  added  thereunto." 

The  result  of  the  competition  was  only  just  announced  when  one 
of  the  examiners,  M.  Fauriel,  Professor  of  Foreign  Literature  in  the 
Sorbonne,  requested  that  Ozanam  should  supply  for  him  from  the 
opening  of  the  course.  The  request  was  granted.  Ozanam  belonged 
henceforward  to  Literature,  to  Paris,  and  more  than  ever  to  God. 

He  wrote  to  Lallier :  "  My  friend,  if  all  that  is  not  a  dream,  it  can 
only  be  explained  in  one  way.  God  granted  me  the  grace  to  bring 
to  that  test  a  faith  which  makes  thought  animated  and  virile,  maintains 
harmony  in  ideas,  and  breathes  heat  and  life  into  speech.  Thus  I  can 
say  In  hoc  vici.  Such  a  thought,  while  it  makes  me  humble,  is  never 
theless  reassuring." 

It  is,  then,  God  who  was  thanked,  and  in  Holy  Communion.  A 
short  letter  written  at  once  to  Lallier,  on  the  3rd  October,  concluded 
as  follows :  "  Those  events  surpassed  all  my  hopes.  I  am  praying 
God  now  that  He  will  enlighten  me.  Join  me  in  prayer  ;  rest  assured 


174  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

that  I,  on  my  part,  in  receiving  Holy  Communion  to-morrow  morning, 
will  not  forget  your  tender  anxieties,  any  more  than  I  shall  forget 
our  friends,  our  common  hopes,  and  our  duty  to  summon  up  our 
courage  for  the  severe  trials  which  the  present  position  of  Church 
and  State  imposes  on  the  lowliest  of  their  children." 

That  duty,  which  was  now  imposed  on  him  more  than  ever,  and 
for  the  adequate  discharge  of  which  he  begged  his  friend's  prayers,  in 
order  that  his  courage  should  be  equal  to  the  present  situation  of 
Church  and  State,  lay  henceforth  for  him  in  higher  instruction. 
Such  an  ideal  appeared  to  him  indeed  sublime,  and  he  wrote  as 
follows  :  "  To  instruct  man  in  truth  is  no  ordinary  undertaking.  The 
boldest  minds  attempted  it  with  hesitation.  Descartes,  trembling 
in  his  solitude  before  the  conception  which  was  to  change  the  course 
of  Philosophy,  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Notre-Dame-de-Liesse  in  order 
to  obtain  the  grace  not  to  mislead  the  human  race." 


175 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
HIS    MARRIAGE. 

BELGIUM  AND  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  RHINE. — CHRISTIAN  MARRIAGE. — LYONS 
OR     PARIS. — THE     WEDDING. — HONEYMOON. — SICILY     AND     ROME. 

1841. 

Ozanam's  intention  was  to  return  to  Lyons  immediately  after  the 
examination,  to  rejoice  with  his  relatives  and  friends  over  the  result. 
He  desired  more  particularly  to  place  his  laurels  at  the  feet  of  one, 
who  had  become  a  very  dear  friend  and  even  a  sweet  hope.  But  he 
was  obliged  on  the  other  hand  to  deliver  in  the  place  of  M.  Fauriel 
a  course  of  lectures  on  German  Literature  in  the  Middle  Ages,  com 
mencing  with  the  Niebelungen  Lied  and  the  Heldenbuch. 

It  was  the  subject  which  had  been  recommended  by  M.  Ampere,  and 
accepted  by  M.  Fauriel.  But  in  order  to  treat  poetically  and  identify 
geographically,  that  epic  from  beyond  the  Rhine,  should  he  not  at  least 
have  first  glanced  at  the  scene  of  the  drama  ? 

"  It  was,"  as  he  said,  "  a  case  of  literary  conscience."  Was  it  not 
rather  a  little  piece  of  literary  snobbishness  +o  be  able  to  say  to  his 
audience  ;  Gentlemen,  I  have  been  there  ?  "  Exactly  as  when  a  child, 
I  used  to  wet  the  tips  of  my  fingers  in  order  to  be  able  to  say  without 
fibbing  to  my  mother,  I  did  wash  myself."  He  set  out,  regretting 
very  much  that  he  could  not  return  directly  to  Lyons  at  a  moment 
when  "  the  need  for  an  unbosoming  of  the  heart  was  great." 

"  I  made  the  great  effort  which  duty  demanded,  and  flung  myself 
into  a  train  at  Paris  for  Brussels.  Then  nature  asserted  itself.  For 
more  than  a  long  day  I  went  from  one  fit  of  depression  into  another, 
at  the  thought  of  the  keen  enjoyment  which  I  had  given  up." 

On  the  sixth  day  of  his  trip  Ozanam  availed  himself  of  a  stop  at 
Mainz,  during  the  long  October  evenings,  to  commence  an  account 


176  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

of  his  impressions  for  Lallier.  They  were  those  of  a  pilgrim,  rather 
than  of  a  tourist  or  litterateur. 

I  note  first  his  views  on  Belgium  :  "  This  new-born  Kingdom,  this 
nation  in  miniature,  this  empire  of  Lilliput,"  at  which  he  first  smiles; 
at  the  activity,  at  the  institutions  and  at  the  prosperity  of  which  he 
is  then  amazed,  and  about  which  he  concludes:  "Situated  between 
France,  Germany  and  England,  Catholic  Belgium  is  an  institution 
and  an  example  ;  it  is,  in  that  way  truly  European  and  a  moral  power.'* 

I  note  particularly  his  views  on  Louvain  :  "  The  Sorbonne  of  the 
Low  Countries,"  the  first  beginning  of  which,  it  will  be  remembered,  the 
young  student  in  Paris  had  welcomed  and  defended,  "  Restored  to  its 
former  glory  by  the  Belgian  Bishops,  endowed  with  forty  Chairs, 
a  Library  of  130,000  volumes,  and  three  colleges,  the  Louvain 
University  has  shown  how  the  Church,  when  she  is  her  own  mistress, 
can  enlist  patriotism  in  the  service  of  faith.  Nowhere  have  I  seen 
Orthodoxy,  Liberty,  and  Science  held  in  such  honour  and  in  such 
respect." 

Ozanam  spent  some  hours  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  but  was  detained 
longer  at  Cologne.  Having  first  paid  tribute  to  its  ancient  distinction, 
he  next  pays  homage  to  its  present  honour  in  the  heroic  person  of  His 
Grace  Archbishop  Droste  de  Wischering,  still  imprisoned  by  Prussia. 
"  I  saw  the  archiepiscopal  throne  empty,  but  the  church  crowded. 
The  widowed  church  with  its  Gothic  arches,  radiant  amid  its  ruins, 
seemed  to  me  a  type  of  Andromache  of  old  smiling  through  her  tears." 

Speaking  of  the  wonderful  legend  of  the  eleven  thousand  virgins 
at  St.  Ursula,  he  says  simply  :  "  Who  would  have  the  courage  to  count 
them  ?  I  note  the  historical  fact  of  the  virgin  martyr.  I  kneel  at 
her  tomb.  As  for  the  number  of  her  companions,  I  am  only  sure  of 
this,  that  she  has  more  in  Heaven  than  she  had  on  earth." 

This  enthusiastic  visit  to  pious  monuments  lifted  him  up  with 
admiration.  He  was  pleased  to  recall  the  fact  that  such  marvels 
of  Art  stand  to  the  credit  of  the  Germans  of  the  eighth  to  the  eleventh 
centuries  "whom  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  Christianity  had 
initiated  into  the  most  refined  and  the  most  sublime  mysteries  of  true 
beauty." 

It  can  easily  be  surmised  how  interested  the  professor  of  the  morrow 
was  at  the  scene  of  the  German  and  Prankish  epics.  He  saw  Xanten, 
the  country  of  Siegfried,  Worms,  where  Chriemhild  grew  up  under 
the  protection  of  her  brothers.  The  Niebelungen  Lied,  the  Carolingian 


BEYOND  THE  RHINE  177 

Epic,  and  the  cycle  of  the  Holy  Grail  are  side  by  side  there.  Still  more 
ancient  myths  have  peopled  the  the  hill  of  Lurdes  and  the  caves  of 
Kedrick  with  Elves  and  Dwarfs.  In  this  wise  the  scene  of  barbarian 
tradition,  which  he  was  to  unfold  afterwards  from  the  professorial 
chair,  became  fixed  in  his  mind. 

The  pilgrim  is  afterwards  pleased  to  come  down  to  the  Middle  Ages 
which  were  peopled  with  Saints,  having  their  mottoes  inscribed  on 
the  ruins  of  towns  and  monasteries :  "  Throughout  the  whole  of  its 
course  the  river  flows  under  a  Catholic  firmament.  The  patron 
saints  of  navigators,  St.  Peter,  St.  Nicholas,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  have 
their  statues  on  its  banks  ;  the  Crucifix  tops  the  highest  crests  of  the 
neighbouring  mountains  ....  Our  rapid  passage  leaves  us  scarce 
time  to  salute  these  apparitions  of  the  past ;  and  yet  I  have  promised 
that  they  shall  not  be  left  out.  There  is  not  a  foot  of  the  way  from 
Brussels  to  here  to  which  my  feelings  were  not  attached,  not  a  farewell 
uttered  which  did  not  cause  a  pang."  It  was  only  a  passing  glance 
it  is  true,  but  one  which  would  serve  him  in  good  stead  on  his  return. 
He  compares  himself  playfully  to  the  young  Caligula,  who  pressed 
on  to  the  Rhine,  gathered  some  pebbles  on  its  banks,  and  then  returned 
to  receive  the  honours  of  a  triumph  in  Rome  which  decreed  him  the 
title  Germanicus  for  that  feat  ! 

"  I  shall  return  via  Strasburg  to  Lyons,"  he  said  at  the  end  of  his 
long  letter  to  Lallier :  "  after  five  weeks  business  and  work,  I  shall 
return  to  Paris  to  settle  down  there  and  to  become  your  neighbour." 
The  principal  matter  of  business  which  he  was  about  to  settle  in  Lyons 
was  specifically  the  choice  of  life,  which  had  been  long  delayed.  The 
will  of  God  had  declared  itself  by  interior  and  exterior  signs  which  must 
now  be  noticed. 

Living  entirely  the  intellectual  life,  and  sustained  by  the  grace  of  a 
full  spiritual  life,  Ozanam  had  refused  to  think  of  marriage.  In  1835 
the  twenty-two  year  old  student  does  nothing  but  laugh  at  one  of  his 
comrades  "  who  is  inclined  to  light  the  candles  at  the  altar  of  hymen 
with  hundred  thousand  franc  notes  !  ....  To  fortify  myself  against 
such  a  fate,  and  to  inoculate  myself  against  such  contagion,  to  steep 
myself  in  the  love  of  solitude  and  liberty,  I  have  just  concluded  a 
pilgrimage  with  my  brother  to  the  monks  of  the  Grand  Chartreuse  !" 

"  Ozanam 's  pure  soul,"  writes  M.  Caro,  "  cherished  all  his  life  a 
chivalrous  and  tender  sentiment  of  purity  towards  women.  He  had  an 
especial  horror  of  loose  conversation  and  writing,  which  break  down  the 


178  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

barriers  of  sex  distinction  and  debase  love.  He  received  with  difficulty 
any  historical  truth  which  witnessed  the  weakness  of  an  illustrious 
woman.  I  recall  frequently  his  shyness  and  embarassment  at  the  discreet 
allusions  of  Bossuet  in  his  funeral  oration  on  the  Duchess  of  Orleans. 
His  chaste  imagination  did  not  dare  to  advance  further  than  the 
thought  of  the  priest." 

Nevertheless  the  announcement  of  the  intended  marriage  of  a  friend 
was  not  without  its  effect  in  bringing  him  face  to  face  with  the  prospect 
of  entering  into  those  holy  bonds. 

It  is  with  such  sentiments  that  he  regards  marriage  in  the  following 
letter  instinct  with  religion  :  "  Although  my  age  is  the  age  of  passions, 
I  have  scarcely  felt  their  most  distant  tremors.  My  heart  has,  so  far, 
known  only  the  sentiments  of  comradeship  and  friendship.  Yet  I  seem 
to  begin  to  experience  symptoms  of  another  order  of  affection,  and  I 
begin  to  be  afraid.  I  feel  a  void  growing  within  me,  which  neither 
friendship  nor  intellectual  work  fills.  I  do  not  know  what  will  fill  it. 
Will  it  be  the  Creator  ?  Will  it  be  a  creature  ?  If  the  latter,  I  am 
praying  that  she  may  come  when  I  shall  have  made  myself  worthy 
of  her.  I  am  praying  that  she  may  be  sufficiently  good-looking  not 
to  cause  any  after  regrets.  I  am  praying  especially  that  she  may 
bring  great  virtue  in  a  great  soul,  that  she  may  be  much  more  worthy 
than  I,  that  she  may  elevate  me,  that  she  may  be  as  brave  as  I  am 
often  fearful,  as  ardent  as  I  am  lukewarm  in  the  things  of  God, 
sympathetic,  so  that  I  shall  not  have  to  blush  before  her  for  my  un- 
worthiness.  Such  are  my  wishes  and  my  hopes,  but  as  I  have  already 
said,  there  is  nothing  of  which  I  am  more  ignorant  than  of  my  own 
future." 

It  is  a  just  conception  of  the  ideal  of  marriage  at  once  calm,  lofty  and 
humble.  Two  years  later  the  ideal  of  a  religious  life  had  taken  shape 
and  had  driven  out  for  a  while  that  of  marriage.  He  wrote  modestly, 
on  the  5th  October,  1837,  as  follows  :  "  It  is  not  that  I  have  to  distrust 
the  inclinations  of  my  heart,  but  I  feel  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a 
male  virginity,  which  is  not  without  honour  and  charm."  The 
marriage  bonds  made  him  fear.  The  permanency  of  the  link  to  any 
human  creature,  no  matter  how  perfect  she  might  be,  seemed  to  him 
an  abdication.  When  present  at  a  marriage  he  could  not  forbear 
shedding  tears.  Nothing  less  than  the  thought  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
and  the  Blessed  Mother  sufficed  to  make  him  pardon  the  daughters  of 
Eve  for  their  confiscation  of  our  liberty  in  capturing  our  hearts. 


IDEAL  OF  MARRIAGE  179 

"  Not  indeed,"  he  explains  to  his  friend,  Lallier,  who  was  engaged, 
"  that  I  claim  to  preach  permanent  celibacy.  But  that  she,  whom 
God  destines  for  me,  should  come  only  when  I  have  had  time  to  make 
myself  worthy  of  her  "  ;  adding,  "  I  wish  that  the  moment  of  conjugal-*' 
union  should  be  deferred  until  the  mind  has  attained  its  full  develop 
ment,  the  character  its  moulded  form,  and  that  some  sort  of  right  to 
family  joys  has  been  acquired  by  work  and  solitude." 

That  work,  what  was  it  ?  He  replied  with  outspoken  frankness 
to  the  friend  deprived  of  mother  and  home  :  "  Are  not  God  and  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge,  charity  and  intellectual  work,  enough  to  conquer 
your  grief  and  to  occupy  your  youth  ?  Is  society  so  happy,  religion 
so  honoured,  Christian  youth  so  numerous  and  so  active,  that  you 
have  the  right  to  withdraw  so  soon  the  talent  and  the  grace  with  which 
God  has  endowed  you,  like  unto  the  wearied  labourer  who  bore  the 
heat  and  the  burden  of  the  day  ?  Do  you  despair  of  the  regeneration  -/v 
of  our  country,  of  the  resurrection  of  ideals  ?  Or,  indeed,  do  you 
despair  of  yourself,  of  God  Who  has  created,  purchased  and  sanctified 
you  ?" 

Lallier  married  towards  the  close  of  1838.  The  austere  Ozanam  was 
not  too  severe  with  him.  His  New  Year's  wishes  for  the  household 
were,  "  You  gave  me  an  invitation  at  Christmas  which  I  did  not  fail 
to  accept.  I  pray  the  God  of  all  mercy,  who  visited  me  in  the  ruin 
of  my  family,  to  visit  also  the  home  where  yours  is  growing,  to  be  in 
your  company  as  He  was  with  Joseph  and  Mary,  and  to  bless  the 
first  hopes  of  your  union." 

When  that  first  hope  was  realised,  Ozanam  saluted  the  baby  in  its 
cradle  in  the  following  lines  :  "  Happy  is  the  first-born  of  an  early 
marriage  !  Happy  is  the  father  to  whom  is  given  the  great  consola 
tion  of  seeing  his  youth  regenerated  in  the  person  of  a  son  I"  He 
hailed  "  the  little  angel  whose  presence  sanctifies  the  home,  makes 
virtue  more  loveable  and  life  less  serious." 

But  better  was  to  follow.  The  day  arrived,  and  that  very  soon,  when 
the  roles  were  reversed  and  it  was  Ozanam  who  formally  sought  the 
benefit  of  Lallier's  experience  in  the  great  question  of  marriage  : 
"  Christmas,  1839  :  My  perplexity  is  great.  I  am  spoken  to  on  all 
sides  about  marriage.  I  don't  understand  the  question  sufficiently 
well  to  be  able  to  make  up  my  mind.  Advise  me.  You  know  the 
responsibilities  and  the  consolations  of  that  state.  You  know  also 
the  character  and  the  history  of  the  client.  Give  him,  I  beg  of  you 


i8o  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

your  opinion  with  that  same  frankness  which  he  exercised  towards 
you." 

If  "he  was  spoken  to  on  all  sides  about  marriage  "  it  was  because 
everybody  sympathised  with  his  isolation,  which,  indeed,  showed  itself 
plaintively  in  all  his  correspondence.  He  was  obviously  lonely  and 
bored  by  the  side  of  his  own  hearth.  There  the  tender  orphan  found 
on  his  return  from  his  professorial  lectures  only  the  humble  and  dull 
society  of  the  old  Guigui,  who  was  always  recalling  the  dead,  without 
being  in  anyway  able  to  fill  their  places.  Ozanam  wrote  :  "  I  am 
beginning  to  experience  that  complaint,  which  you  knew  only  too  well, 
ennui.  Intercede  with  the  Saviour  of  souls  on  my  behalf  that  He  may 
save  me  from  the  dangers  of  loneliness,  that  He  may  enlighten  my  mind 
to  know  His  designs  for  me,  and  grant  me  the  strength  to  accomplish 
them.  His  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven,  that  is  to  say 
with  faith  and  with  love." 

But  was  not  married  life  incompatible  with  a  life  of  good  works  ? 
That  strange  objection,  which  he  had  urged  but  a  short  time  before 
to  Lallier,  had  disappeared  from  his  mind  at  the  sight  of  the  young 
homes  in  the  City  of  Lyons,  whose  heads  had  continued  to  be  the  solid 
supports  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  He  wrote  to  Pesson- 
neaux  as  follows  :  "  Generous  souls  even  though  in  the  married  state, 
none  the  less  continue  to  collaborate  in  that  noble  work.  Thus  we 
behold  with  joy  Arthaud,  Chaurand  and  many  others  persevering  in 
their  former  chosen  work.  They  have  been  lost  neither  to  the  poor, 
nor  to  the  great  work  of  the  regeneration  of  France. 

To  induce  Lallier  to  postpone  his  marriage,  he  had  also  urged  the  duty 
of  deserving,  by  a  studious  and  lonely  youth,  the  happiness  of  a  union, 
to  which  a  good  claim,  if  not  an  absolute  title,  should  be  established. 
Now  Ozanam  himself  was  26  years  of  age.  He  was  a  Doctor  in  twa 
Faculties,  a  brilliant  graduate  of  the  Faculty  in  Paris,  occupying  the 
chair  of  the  Law  of  Commerce  in  Lyons,  about  to  deputise  on  the 
morrow  for  the  chair  of  Literature  in  the  Sorbonne.  In  addition  to 
all  that  he  was  a  man  of  good  works,  enjoying  the  friendship  of  the 
highest  in  the  land,  bearing  a  name  still  superior  to  all  those  distinc 
tions.  She,  who  was  destined  for  him  by  God,  could  be  presented  to 
him  by  the  Divine  hand  itself. 

Ozanam  made  no  progress.  We  read  in  his  correspondence  of 
April,  1840,  that  it  was  in  vain  that  his  friends  and  acquaintances 
invited  him  to  their  family  reunions — "  the  only  reunions  suitable 


HIS  FUTURE  WIFE  181 

for  him  " —  in  order  to  draw  him  out  of  his  lonely  state.  "  He  longs 
to  see  the  season  of  feasts  closed,  and  replaced  by  the  rigorous  practices 
of  Lent."  He  does  not,  however,  decline  to  take  part  in  the  marriage 
celebrations  of  his  friends.  He  offered  his  felicitations  in  beautiful 
terms  to  Le  Taillandier  and  Dufieux  on  the  occasion  of  their  marriages. 
He  brought  to  Chaurand's  marriage  feast  his  presence,  his  graceful 
bearing,  even  pretty  little  poems,  "  the  last  verses  of  his  expiring 
poetic  muse,  in  which  he  experiences  something  of  the  feebleness 
which  characterises  the  paternity  of  old  men."  In  every  reunion  or 
gathering  he  holds  himself  studiously  aloof  from  "  those  young  Misses" 
as  he  describes  them  en  masse,  thus  discouraging  the  secret  but  trans 
parent  designs  of  their  mothers.  He  hastens  again  to  declare  on  the 
2 ist  June,  1840  :  "  I  am  free,  with  the  most  complete  freedom,  but 
with  a  freedom  which  is  sometimes  inconvenient,  in  that  it  exposes 
me  to  matrimonial  schemes  characterised  by  the  most  compromising 
advances." 

Providence,  however,  who  loves  pure  and  upright  hearts,  and  who 
guides  their  destinies  with  His  own  hand,  led  Ozanam,  all  unwittingly 
to  his. 

The  Abbe  Noirot  had  never  wavered  in  his  view,  that  Ozanam  was 
not  made  for  the  life  of  a  religious.  But  forbearing  to  probe  into  the 
inmost  recesses  of  that  independent  and  free  character,  he  awaited 
an  enquiry  from  him.  His  reply  was  invariably  :  "  Get  married,  my 
dear  young  man,  get  married."  He  had  indeed  in  his  mind  the  name 
of  a  young  girl  of  good  family,  who  seemed  to  him  most  worthy  to 
become  the  spouse  of  his  dearest  disciple.  As  for  an  interview, 
Frederick  would  not  have  been  a  party  to  it.  The  Abbe  endeavoured 
to  arrange  an  apparently  chance  meeting.  Providence  did  the  rest. 

Ozanam  was  in  regular  touch  with  the  Rector  of  the  Academy  in 
Lyons,  M.  Soulacroix,  his  immediate  chief.  One  day,  accompanied 
by  the  Abbe  Noirot,  he  visited  his  chief,  and  the  Abbe,  entering  the 
drawing-room  introduced  to  Madame  Soulacroix,  as  if  by  chance,  M. 
Frederic  Ozanam,  a  young  professor  of  Law,  with  whom  she  exchanged 
a  few  conventional  phrases.  In  the  same  room,  sitting  at  a  window, 
a  young  girl  nursed  tenderly  a  young  man  suffering  and  crippled,  who, 
one  felt,  was  her  brother.  She  sustained,  cheered,  and  comforted 
him  ;  she  was,  indeed,  so  taken  up  with  him  that  she  failed  to  notice 
the  presence  o*  the  strange  visitor.  But  he  had  noticed  her.  From  the 
next  room  he  still  regarded  through  the  open  door  the  figure  of  the 


i82  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

young  girl  leaning  gracefully  over  her  dear  invalid  :  "  Loving  sister 
and  happy  brother  !  How  she  loves  him  !"  His  eyes  never  left  her. 
It  was  the  charming  image  of  charity  that  had  just  appeared  to  him. 
The  young  girl  whom  the  Abbe  Noirot  had  just  indicated  was  not 
altogether  unknown  to  him.  He  knew — it  was  well  known  in  Lyons — 
that  M.  Soulacroix  had  himself  watched  over  her  education,  and  had 
beautified  her  mind  with  all  the  aesthetic  taste  of  which  he  was  an 
acknowledged  master.  Her  mother,  a  woman  of  outstanding  merit,  of 
kind  disposition  and  simple  distinction,  had  trained  her  in  those 
household  duties  and  graceful  accomplishments,  which  make  homes 
dignified  and  manners  charming.  The  child  possessed,  it  was  said, 
uncommon  musical  ability,  with  which  she  gave  great  pleasure.  Above 
all,  she  was  passing  rich  in  those  treasures  of  devotion  and  delicacy, 
which  piety  implants  in  the  hearts  of  Christian  women,  for  the  happi 
ness  of  husbands  and  the  salvation  of  children. 

The  fugitive  vision,  which  had  made  Ozanam  desirous  of  being  loved 
by  such  a  sweet  sister,  was  followed  up  by  a  series  of  more  frequent 
visits  to  his  principal  for  business  reasons.  Did  the  story  of  Dante 
and  Beatrice  occur  to  him  ?  But  Ozanam  could  not  possibly  have 
thought  that  such  a  poetic  reverie  should  ever  become  a  dominating 
reality  of  his  existence. 

Another  thought  of  it  for  him.  The  Abbe  Noirot,  who  lived  on  terms 
of  great  personal  intimacy  with  M.  Soulacroix,  had  sounded  him  on 
the  matter.  He  did  not  find  the  father  at  all  repugnant  to  the  sugges 
tion  of  a  union  between  his  beloved  daughter  and  the  young  professor 
whom  he  held  in  affectionate  regard. 

That  regard  and  friendship  had  shown  itself  in  several  administrative 
provisions  for  the  advancement  of  the  young  Doctor,  the  pride  and  the 
hope  of  the  Lyons  Academy,  whose  salary  he  had  just  raised  from 
3,000  to  4,000  francs.  That  was  only  the  beginning. 

The  question  of  succession  to  Quinet's  chair  of  foreign  literature 
arose  about  the  same  time,  through  the  same  agency,  and  with  the  same 
intention.  "  It  is  nevertheless  true,"  the  Abbe  Ozanam  informs  us, 
"  that  when  the  Abbe  Noirot  communicated  to  my  brother  the  assent 
of  his  principal  to  the  consideration  of  marriage,  Frederick  could  not 
believe  it,  so  far  below  that  choice  did  he  regard  himself,  so  stunned 
was  he  by  his  good  fortune." 

It  was  during  those  days  that  Ozanam  was  suddenly  called  upon 
by  M.  Cousin  to  take  part  in  the  professorial  concursus.  He  devoted 


ENGAGEMENT  183 

all  his  time  to  the  immediate  preparation  for  a  test,  the  consequences 
of  which  were  naturally  not  unconnected  with  the  issue  of  the  new, 
but  less  pressing,  undertaking.  It  was  decided  that  the  engagement 
should  be  postponed  until  the  result  of  the  concursus  should  be 
announced.  The  marriage  was  to  be  the  prize. 

Indeed,  one  month  after  the  brilliant  young  doctor  had  returned 
from  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  to  Lyons,  a  letter  to  Lallier,  dated  6th 
December,  informed  him  of  his  arrangements,  and  of  his  joy  :  "  My 
dear  friend,  the  awful  question  of  vocation,  which  had  been  unsettled 
for  so  long,  has  been  suddenly  solved.  At  the  same  moment  that 
Providence  called  me  to  the  steep  moral  incline  of  the  metropolis,  an 
angel  guardian  was  given  me  to  console  my  loneliness.  I  am  leaving 
for  six  months,  and  my  engagement  will  be  completed  on  my  return." 

His  elder  brother  introduced  Frederick  officially  to  his  people-in- 
law  and  describes  in  detail  the  event :  "  We  were  about  to  withdraw 
after  a  mutual  exchange  of  congratulations,  when  M.  Soulacroix  took 
the  hands  of  the  engaged  couple  and  with  overflowing  heart,  held  them 
in  his  own,  as  if  to  knit  those  bonds  which  the  Church  was  to  consecrate 
later."  M.  Soulacroix  was  a  thorough-going  and  outspoken  Christian, 
who  did  not  fear  in  troublous  times  and  in  a  difficult  post,  to  throw  the 
mantle  of  his  protection  over  Catholic  schools. 

For  one  moment  the  question  of  the  place  of  the  future  home  arose. 
Would  it  be  in  Lyons  or  in  Paris  ?  The  decision  was  magnanimous 
and  stands  to  the  honour  of  the  fiancee. 

The  new  Minister  of  Education,  M.  Villemain,  who  succeeded  Cousin, 
was  a  close  friend  of  the  Principal  in  Lyons.  Knowing  of  the  proposed 
marriage  of  Ozanam  and  the  daughter  of  Soulacroix,  and  desirous 
of  fulfilling  his  predecessor's  promise,  he  felt  he  was  falling  in  with  both 
views  in  offering  him  the  chair  of  Foreign  Literature,  which  had  just 
then  become  vacant  by  the  promotion  of  Quinet  to  the  College  of 
France.  It  meant,  with  the  chair  of  the  Law  of  Commerce,  an  income 
of  about  15,000  francs.  It  meant  a  permanency.  Above  all,  it  meant 
Lyons,  the  families  of  the  young  couple,  friends,  the  advantage  of  a 
well-known  name,  security  to  the  end  of  his  career.  Paris  could  only 
offer  a  temporary  acting  position,  a  moderate  income,  a  precarious 
livelihood,  straitened  means,  probably  hardship.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  Paris  was  the  centre  of  Catholic  action,  the  battle-field  of  the 
defence  of  religion,  with  Catholic  Truth  to  advance,  Catholic  Charity 
to  foster,  the  storm  centre  of  the  battle  for  the  restoration  of  God  in 


184  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

philosophy,  history  and  literature  ;  it  meant  the  society  which  was 
bound  up  with  eight  years  of  his  young  life,  and  to  which  God  and  his 
friends  were  calling  him  ....  Ozanam  prayed  fervently  at  that  time. 
"  Heavy  sacrifices  have  to  be  made,  cruel  partings  to  be  endured, 
business  and  family  complications  to  be  solved,  all  that  is  more  than 
enough  to  terrify  one  of  ordinary  energy.  It  is  fortunate  that  the 
appreciation  of  my  weakness  makes  me  lift  my  eyes  to  Him  who 
strengthens.  Up  to  the  present  I  asked  for  light  to  know  His  will ; 
I  ask  now  for  the  courage  to  do  it." 

He  had  naturally  to  consult  his  future  father-in-law,  who  was  of 
course  on  the  side  of  Lyons.  To  abandon  Lyons  for  Paris  was  to 
surrender  the  substance  for  the  shadow,  the  certain  for  the  uncertain, 
happiness  and  peace  for  trouble  and  danger.  What  father  of  a  family 
could  possibly  support  such  an  adventure  ? 

Ozanam  pleaded  for  Paris  with  arguments  which  fathers-in-law 
best  understand,  more  rapid  advancement,  close  touch  with  influential 
people.  M.  Ampere  was  a  guarantee  of  the  latter.  In  addition,  he 
urged  the  advantage  of  unique  libraries  of  reference,  a  young  and 
impressionable  audience  not  to  be  had  elsewhere,  a  future  in  which, 
with  God's  help,  hard  work  could  win  for  him  independence  and  honour. 
M.  Soulacroix  was  very  much  touched  by  the  appeal.  The  worthy 
father  understood  that  heroism  has  also  its  rights  in  this  world.  More 
over,  his  confidence  in  the  talent  and  industry  of  the  young  Doctor  was 
boundless.  But  would  the  father  play  the  part  of  sending  the  daughter 
to  be  sacrificed  ? 

Ozanam  appealed  to  the  young  lady  herself.  That  was  a  moment 
of  pathos.  He  placed  every  consideration  before  her.  They  could 
indeed  remain  in  Lyons  in  the  bosom  of  their  families  and  enjoy 
happiness  and  tranquility.  They  were  called  to  it,  it  was  wisdom,  so 
it  was  said,  it  was  their  right.  But  for  him  it  meant  the  abandonment 
of  what  he  regarded  as  a  most  compelling  duty,  of  the  raison  d'&tre 
of  his  activities  and  of  his  existence.  It  meant  the  surrendering  of 
the  noble  mission  which  he  had  dreamed  of  accomplishing  with  her, 
sustained  by  her,  living  a  life  given  up  to  self-sacrifice,  but  shared  with 
her.  Was  it  too  much  to  ask  ?  Had  she  sufficient  confidence  in  herself 
and  in  him  to  commence  in  a  small  way,  to  suffer  a  little,  to  bide  their 
time  patiently  with  the  grace  of  God  ? 

The  fiancee  replied  to  that  question  by  placing  her  hands  in 
Frederick's,  saying :  "  I  have  full  confidence  in  you  !" 


SEPARATION  185 

The  description  of  that  scene  is  clearly  from  the  dictation  of  Madame 
Ozanam  herself. 

The  holidays  were  brought  to  a  close  brightened  by  visits,  enter 
tainments  and  a  series  of  musical  "  at  homes,"  given  by  Madame 
Soulacroix  to  the  elite  of  society,  over  which  her  daughter  presided 
as  a  queen.  Ozanam  was  transported  with  delight. 

But  December  had  come.  The  opening  of  the  course  of  lectures 
at  the  Sorbonne  called  the  young  Acting-Professor  to  Paris.  No  time 
was  left  for  the  preparation  or  celebration  of  the  marriage.  It  was 
postponed  to  the  end  of  the  academic  year,  seven  or  eight  months 
later. 

The  time  of  separation  arrived.  Paris  became  for  the  lover  a  place 
of  exile.  That  is  what  he  calls  it  in  the  following  letter,  dated  the  6th 
December,  to  Lallier,  whom  he  calls  "  his  best  friend  in  this  world  "  : 
"  After  six  weeks'  holidays  crowded  with  big  events,  I  must  return  to 
Paris  to  embark  on  the  perilous  voyage  at  the  Sorbonne.  I  appeal 
to  your  prayers.  May  God  guard,  during  my  six  months'  exile,  her 
whom  He  Himself  seems  to  have  chosen  for  me.  Her  smile  is  the 
first  ray  of  happiness  which  has  shone  on  my  life  since  my  poor  father's 
death.  You  will  conclude  that  I  am  deeply  in  love  !  I  do  not  hide 
it  from  myself,  even  though  I  am  forced  sometimes  to  laugh  at  it,  I, 
who  thought  I  was  hardened  !" 

Lyons  saw  Ozanam  for  one  fortnight  at  Easter.  It  was  the 
sweet  prelude  to  the  happiness  which  was  to  be  his  in  the  summer 
vacation.  From  December,  however,  an  uninterrupted  correspondence 
had  linked  together  those  whom  time  and  space  still  kept  apart.  This 
private  correspondence  has  remained  so  far  privileged  and  reserved. 
Its  value  is  unequal.  Yet  if,  from  the  thirty  odd  letters  of  which  it 
is  composed,  we  were  privileged  to  quote  a  few  lines,  we  should  choose 
those  in  which  Ozanam  thanks  his  fiancee  for  having  supported  him 
with  her  intercession  and  her  merit,  on  the  two  days  each  week  that 
he  faced  the  audience  as  a  Professor.  Or  again  those  in  which  he 
besought  her  to  join  him  in  spirit  in  his  work  of  charity,  as  the  best 
asset  of  the  store  that  was  to  be  theirs  in  common.  Or,  above  all, 
those  wherein  he  made  it  a  matter  of  conscience  to  show  himself  to  her 
such  as  he  really  was,  with  more  defects  than  virtues,  for  she  must 
be  united  to  him  only  with  full  knowledge. 

"  My  dear,  illusions  about  me  are  not  possible  any  longer.  You 
see  me,  you  know  me,  and  such  as  I  am  you  want  me.  You  do  not 


i86  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

give  up  hope  of  my  becoming  better.  You  believe  in  me  because  of 
the  high  character  of  my  friends,  because  of  the  reputation  left  by  my 
parents,  because  of  the  inheritance  of  faith  and  morals  which  they 
bequeathed  to  me,  and  which,  thank  Providence,  I  have  preserved. 
Your  faith  will  indeed  sustain  mine.  I  may  commence  to  think 
that  I  am  some  good,  seeing  that  I  have  become  dear  to  another. 
When  doubts  assail  me,  when  difficulties  trouble  my  conscience,  when 
fears  for  the  future  terrify  me,  I  shall  grow  calm  in  thinking  of  you.  I 
shall  say  that  if  God  should  see  fit  to  abandon  me  to  darkness  and  ruin, 
He  could  not,  as  a  loving  Father,  permit  that  a  young  girl  full  of 
purity  and  innocence,  of  rectitude  and  tenderness,  should  be  deceived 
in  her  trust,  should  wander  from  the  straight  path,  and  fall  into  my 
hands." 

It  was  on  the  23rd  day  of  June,  1841,  that  M.  Antoine  Frederic 
Ozanam,  28  years  of  age,  married  Madamoiselle  Marie-Josephine- 
Am  elie  Soulacroix  in  her  2ist  year. 

A  full  description  is  given  a  week  later  in  a  letter  to  Lallier,  dated 
from  the  Castle  of  Vernay,  28th  June,  1841  :  "  Last  Wednesday,  at 
8  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  the  Church  of  St.  Nizier,  your  friend  was 
kneeling  before  the  altar,  on  which  his  elder  brother  was  celebrating 
Holy  Mass,  and  at  the  foot  of  which  his  young  brother  gave  the 
liturgical  responses.  At  his  side  you  would  have  seen  a  white-veiled 
young  girl,  pious  as  an  angel,  and  now,  I  have  leave  to  say,  as  tender 
and  affectionate  as  a  loving  friend.  She  was  happier  than  I  in  this, 
that  her  parents  were  present.  Yet  all  the  family  relations  that 
Heaven  had  spared  me  were  there  too  ;  and  my  former  comrades, 
my  brothers  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  filled  the  choir  and  peopled  the 
nave.  I  did  not  indeed  know  where  I  was.  I  could  scarce  restrain 
sweet  tears  from  falling,  and  I  felt  the  divine  blessing  descend  on  me 
as  the  consecrated  words  were  spoken." 

He  wrote  as  follows  to  Lallier  and  to  Pessonneaux  to  whom  he 
wished  to  introduce  his  charming  wife  :  "  She  is  delighting  every 
one I  am  happy.  I  do  not  count  days  or  hours.  Time  does 

not  exist  for  me.  What  matters  the  future  ?  Happiness  in  the  present 
is  eternity.  I  understand  what  heaven  means.  Help  me  to  be  good 
and  grateful." 

A  similar  letter  was  sent  some  days  later  to  M.  Ampere  :  "  I  am 
aflame  with  interior  happiness.  I  thought  of  you  amidst  the 
friends  at  the  foot  of  the  altar.  .  .  Your  name  recurs  frequently, 


THE  HONEYMOON  187 

as    well    as    that    of    your    revered    father,    in    my    conversations 

with  my  new  relations But  indeed  I  feel  that  my  obligations 

to  you  are  almost  discharged  by  praise  from  the  beloved  lips  of  her, 
whose  one  little  word  makes  me  tremble." 

After  that  event  we  must  note  a  season  of  one  month,  which  the 
wedded  couple  spent  at  d'Allevard  Springs  for  the  treatment  of 
laryngitis,  of  which  the  professor  was  almost  altogether  cured.  But 
the  real  honeymoon  was  spent  in  Naples  and  Sicily,  finished  off  and 
crowned  by  a  ten  days  stay  in  Rome.  "It  was  from  first  to  last  a 
dream  of  enchantment,"  according  to  Ozanam's  correspondence. 

The  requirements  of  the  honeymoon  had  to  be  simple  from  first  to 
last,  if  they  were  not  to  make  serious  inroads  on  the  savings  which  had 
been  put  by  for  the  home  in  Paris  :  "  What  present  could  he  offer  to 
his  young  wife  more  delightful  or  more  lasting  than  the  memory  of  the 
shores  of  the  two  Sicily s,  seen  through  the  eyes  of  an  artist,  and  ex 
plained  to  her  by  the  loving  lips  of  a  historian,  a  Christian  and  a  poet  ?" 

The  description  which  he  gave  in  his  letters  to  his  two  brothers, 
to  his  people-in-law,  and  to  Lallier,  is  altogether  beautiful.  In 
that  correspondence  the  two  antiquities,  pagan  and  Christian,  appear 
side  by  side  amid  incomparable  landscapes,  forming  the  background 
for  family  scenes,  in  which  the  young  wife  always  plays  the  leading 
part. 

The  pilgrimage  was  closed  in  Rome.  Ozanam  saluted  St.  Peter's 
dome  on  the  5th  November  in  the  following  terms  :  "  The  cupola  of 
St.  Peter's  is  the  diadem  of  the  Papacy  hanging  between  heaven  and 
earth.  The  colossal  dome  is  easily  visible  from  the  seas  washing  the 
shores  of  Italy.  From  the  neighbouring  hills  the  sun  was  to  be 
seen  setting  behind  it.  An  admirable  type  of  the  institution  which 
stands  immutable, — the  while  we  are  passing  on  the  seas  of  time, — 
and  on  which  the  setting  rays  of  the  last  sun  of  this  world  will  rest." 

Pope  Gregory  XVI.  received  them  in  paternal  fashion  and  placed 
them  by  his  side  :  "Be  seated  ;  you  are  my  children,  let  us  leave 
formalities  aside  and  have  a  chat."  Dante  was  the  subject  of  much 
discussion. 

"  We  shall  never  forget  the  solemn  moment  when  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  after  having  chatted  familiarly  with  Amelie  and  me,  stretched 
forth  his  venerable  hands  and  blessed  us  and  our  families." 

Ozanam  found  old  friends  in  Rome,  the  Abbe  Gerbet  who  had  come 
to  study  Christian  Rome,  Cazales,  who  had  come  to  be  ordained.  He 


i88  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

made  learned  acquaintances,  ecclesiastical  and  lay.  He  mentions 
the  patriarchal  welcome  which  he  received  from  Cardinal  Pacca.  He 
discussed  Orientalism  with  Cardinal  Mezzofanti  "  whom  the  ancients 
would  have  made  a  god,  and  whom  God  will  certainly  make  a  saint." 

He  concludes  as  follows  :  "It  is  not  for  nothing  that  one  kneels 
at  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles,  that  one  prays  before  the  simple  flag 
stone  covering  the  remains  of  St.  Peter.  It  is  not  in  vain  that,  going 
down  into  the  catacombs,  one  plunges  into  the  very  entrails  of 
Christian  Rome.  I  feel  a  new  movement  in  my  mind,  I  feel  my 
thoughts,  which  had  been  wearied  by  a  precocious  development,  re- 
invigorated,  expanded  and  refreshed." 

After  a  short  stay  in  Florence,  the  travellers  reached  Marseilles  on 
the  28th  November.  They  spent  a  day  in  Nimes,  where  M.  Curnier 
entertained  them  with  a  fete  which  he  himself  has  described.  The 
poet  Reboul  recited  his  poems  at  it.  Lyons  kept  them  only  for  the 
period  necessary  to  make  preparations  for  final  departure  and  farewells. 
They  were  in  Paris  in  December. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  SORBONNE.— ANCIENT  GERMANY. 

FIRST    LECTURES. — TEUTONISM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. — THE    HOLY    ROMAN 
EMPIRE. — THE    HISTORIAN. 

1842. 

Back  to  Paris  as  a  Professor,  after  six  years  continuous  absence, 
Ozanam  was  able  to  affirm  in  his  letters  that  the  Catholic  party,  as  it 
called  itself,  had  continued  to  gain  ground  steadily.  His  first  step 
was  to  pay  a  visit  to  Lallier,  who  was  then  entering  on  his  duties  as  a 
magistrate  in  the  jurisdiction  of  Sens.  Ozanam  had  written  to  him 
from  Lyons :  "  I  am  keeping  my  first  free  moment  to  convey  to  you 
my  thanks.  Better  or  kinder  things  could  be  not  said  to  me.  I  asked 
God  for  the  faith  and  courage  of  which  you  hold  the  secret.  Our 
friends  here,  Chaurand,  Arthaud  and  others,  join  in  kind  regards.  A 
young  generation  of  angels  is  growing  up  around  them.  Those  are 
small  Catholic  families  who  are  increasing,  and  who  will  preserve  the 
tradition  of  faith  and  virtue." 

That  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  six  months  period  between  the 
betrothal  and  the  marriage.  The  lonely  man  took  rooms  with  the 
Baillys  for  the  first  year  of  his  Sorbonne  lectures.  They  received  him 
as  a  son.  He  mentions  the  names  of  some  of  his  former  friends, 
Cazales,  Saint-Cheron,  Montalembert,  who  welcomed  him  as  a  source 
of  strength.  "  All  this  band  is  armed  and  ready  for  the  fight,"  he 
writes.  "  A  many-sided  movement  is  developing  which  is  shaping 
the  destiny  of  this  generation.  The  same  movement  has  brought  us 
the  Correspondant,  the  Revue  Europeenne,  L'  Avenir,  The  Catholic 
University,  the  Annals  of  Christian  Philosophy,  V  Univers,  the  Confer 
ences  in  Notre  Dame,  the  Benedictines  of  Solesmes,  the  Abbe 
Lacordaire,  down  to  the  little  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  But 
who  can  say  how  far  the  efforts  of  the  simple  and  the  humble  have 


FREDERICK  OZANAM 

contributed    to    clear    the    way    for    great    movements   and   great 
men  ?  " 

Proceeding,  he  mentions  in  the  Press  "  new  writers  such  as 
Veuillot,  taken  from  the  enemy  and  recruited  to  the  cause."  Has  not 
Buloz  been  heard  inviting  for  his  Revue  des  Deux-Mondes  writers 
whom  he  calls  "men  of  honour?"  In  the  pulpit  he  names  Pere 
Bautain,  Pere  de  Ravignan,  Pere  Coeur,  the  Abbe  Marcellin,  the  Cure 
Desgenettes,  with  all  his  converts  from  Notre  Dame  des  Victoires.  In 
the  opposite  camp,  he  states,  since  the  triumvirate,  Cousin,  Guizot, 
Villemain,  abandoned  the  "  platform  of  the  Sorbonne,"  not  a  voice 
had  been  heard  on  that  side,  not  a  volume  of  any  kind  had  appeared, 
which  was  daring  enough  to  formulate  a  doctrine  of  its  own.  As  for 
heterodox  literature,  it  has  been  reduced  to  the  level  of  barren  criticism 
or  indecent  licentiousness.  "  Things  being  as  they  are,"  concludes 
the  young  professor,  "  the  field  of  battle  is  ours,  if  we  have  a  sufficient 
number  of  men,  and  of  united  men,  to  carry  the  position." 

Ozanam  admired  the  progress  of  Catholic  propaganda  in  England 
and  America,  the  religious  stand  made  by  O'Connell  in  Ireland,  and  by 
the  Rhine  provinces  on  the  question  of  mixed  marriages.  In  the 
Press  he  notes  with  favour  the  Catholic  of  Madrid,  the  Dublin  Review, 
the  Journal  of  Religious  Knowledge  in  Rome,  the  Catholic  Miscellany 
of  Charleston,  the  Courier  of  Franconia.  "  They  all  hold  out  a  helping 
hand  to  us." 

Last,  and  best  of  all,  he  refers  to  the  Ada  of  the  Holy  See  :  the 
allocutions  of  the  Pope  directed  against  the  governments  of  Russia 
and  Prussia,  which  were  persecuting  the  Church  :  the  Bulls  in  favour 
of  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade,  the  encouragement  given  to  new 
congregational  foundations,  to  reform  in  religious  Art,  the  recent 
appointment  of  independent  Bishops,  such  as  Monsignor  Affre,  Mon- 
signor  Gousset,  Monsignor  de  Bonald,  etc.  "  All,"  he  concludes, 
"  is  co-operating  in  a  forward  movement,  the  extent  of  which  it  is 
impossible  to  foresee,  but  the  existence  of  which  it  is  equally  im 
possible  to  ignore."  Ozanam  came  to  Paris  to  be  one  of  the  co- 
operators. 

The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  and  its  President,  M.  Bailly, 
called  him  unanimously  to  a  seat  in  the  Council-General.  There  he 
found  Leon  Cornudet,  Receiver-General  of  Petitions  in  the  Council 
of  State,  and  a  young  man  of  21  years,  Adolphe  Baudon.  Since 
Lallier  had  gone  to  Sens,  Louis  de  Baudicour  had  taken  his  place  as 


AN  ENTRANCE  TO  THE  SORBONNE. 


OPENING  LECTURE  IN  THE  SORBONNE  191 

Secretary-General.  In  1840  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
Particular  Council,  at  the  head  of  the  Conferences  in  Paris,  and  the 
Council-General,  looking  after  the  common  interests  of  the  Society, 
had  been  clearly  drawn.  At  this  time,  1842-3,  eighty-two  Conferences, 
in  forty-eight  cities  and  thirty-eight  different  dioceses,  were  in  a 
nourishing  condition,  enjoying  the  patronage  of  their  Bishops.  "It  is 
astonishing,"  wrote  Ozanam  at  that  time  to  his  brother,  "  to  see  works 
of  charity  enlist  such  devotion  in  French  society,  which  has  been  so 
distracted  for  more  than  half  a  century  by  many  doctrines,  so  shaken 
by  scandals  at  home,  so  scorned  abroad.  In  this  very  same  Paris, 
amid  the  discrediting  of  many  ideals,  there  is  one  and  one  alone  which 
maintains  dignity,  respect,  and  genuine  popularity,  and  that  is 
Religion." 

The  Sorbonne  also  awaited  the  young  master.  His  course  of  lectures 
was  to  treat  of  two  different  foreign  literatures,  the  one  Italian,  specialis 
ing  in  the  Pur  gator  io  of  Dante — that  was  almost  a  legacy  of  M.  Fauriel, 
who  had  written  a  life  of  that  poet — the  other  Teutonic,  dealing  with 
the  dawn  of  literature  in  Germany  :  both  co-ordinating  in  the  pro 
fessor's  general  sketch  of  the  early  growth  of  Christian  civilisation 
among  European  nations.  He  intended  to  throw  into  relief  the 
divine  origin  of  Catholicity,  by  showing  the  grandeur  of  its  influence 
for  civilisation  on  the  barbarians.  That  was  to  be  the  founda 
tion  of  the  vast  super-structure  which,  built-up  of  many  different 
sections,  co-ordinated  into  a  harmonious  whole,  was  to  advance  a 
stage  each  year. 

Ozanam  opened  his  course  of  lectures  on  the  first  Saturday  in 
January,  1841.  On  that  day  the  Faculty  of  Literature  of  the  Sorbonne 
witnessed  a  young  professor  enter  and  take  his  place  in  the  Chair  of 
Fauriel.  He  was  pale  from  the  effects  of  burning  the  midnight  oil ; 
paler  when  he  cast  his  eyes  over  the  lecture-hall  and  saw  it 
crowded  with  an  audience  waiting  for  him  to  begin.  Happily,  he  was 
able  to  recognise  in  that  audience  a  goodly  number  of  familiar  faces, 
friends  rather  than  critics. 

He  began  slowly  and  nervously :  "It  could  not  be  otherwise 
than  with  feelings  of  gratitude,  mingled  with  nervousness,  that  I 
come  before  you  for  the  first  time  to  a  Chair  of  the  ancient 
University  of  the  Sorbonne,  with  all  its  olden  glories  continued  in  its 
modern  triumphs  ....  But  even  in  my  nervousness  I  find  cause  for 
hope.  My  age  makes  me  fear,  but  on  the  other  hand  it  brings  me 


IQ2  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

into  touch  and  sympathy  with  the  majority  of  my  audience.  A  feeling  of 
joy,  too,  will  be  pardoned  on  taking  this  Chair,  when  I  remember  the  many 
acts  of  friendship  which  I  have  already  experienced  in  this  same  hall." 

The  friends  replied  with  applause,  which  raised  his  spirits  for  a 
short  while.  But  the  first  half-hour  of  his  lecture  was,  nevertheless, 
laboured  and  spiritless.  The  feeling  of  the  critical  nature  of  this 
first  effort,  which  might  decide  his  whole  future,  paralysed  his  faculties. 
He  describes  himself  in  his  correspondence  as  dragging  along  slowly 
and  entangled  in  his  notes.  He  was  unaccustomed  to  that  armour. 
Applause  was  useless,  it  could  not  rouse  him.  He  himself  was  vexed 
to  feel  that  his  toneless  and  halting  speech  did  not  express  his  thoughts. 
It  was  not  Ozanam.  But  a  point  was  reached  in  the  lecture  when  the 
orator  escaped  from  the  thorny  maze  of  erudition,  and  found  him 
self  face  to  face  with  the  tremendous  fact  of  the  Crusades  which  fixed, 
in  his  opinion,  the  starting  point  of  German  civilisation.  He  put 
forward  that  thought  with  beautiful  imagery  :  "  There  is  a  moment 
in  the  solemn  ceremonies  of  Holy  Week  in  Jerusalem,  when  the  Grecian 
Bishop,  entering  the  Tomb  of  Christ,  enkindles  a  blessed  flame.  There 
upon  the  pilgrims  rush  forward  to  light  their  tapers  from  it,  and  carry 
them  to  their  homes.  So  the  torch  of  Science  and  Art  was  enkindled 
in  the  Crusades  and  was  to  illumine  the  whole  of  Europe." 

Thenceforward,  disentangling  himself  from  his  notes  and  making 
up  for  his  physical  exhaustion  by  his  indomitable  courage,  Ozanam 
became  master  of  his  speech  and  of  himself.  Carried  away  by  the 
sympathy  of  his  audience,  he  concluded  his  lecture  with  animation, 
which  was  much  applauded.  "  Overcome  with  fatigue,  shaken  in 
nerves,  almost  hysterical,  he  met  many  friends,  fellow-members  of 
the  Society,  and  colleagues,  who  assured  him  that  he  had  done  ex 
tremely  well."  Such  is  the  story  of  the  opening  lecture. 

Ozanam  attributed  that  success  solely  to  the  support  of  friends, 
of  whom  he  wrote  :  "  You  would  not  believe  all  that  their  kindness 
has  done  for  me."  Several  Professors  and  graduates  of  the  Sorbonne 
also  had  encouraged  him  kindly  with  their  presence.  Curiosity  had 
drawn  a  large  number  of  the  students  of  the  Ecole  Normale.  "  There 
is  not  anything  to  sound  a  fanfare  about,"  he  wrote,  and  he  placed  a 
mute  on  the  press.  He  wrote  to  M.  Soulacroix  :  "  There  is  not  any 
false  modesty  in  the  statement  that  I  narrowly  escaped  breaking 
down.  I  was  disgusted  with  the  crude  and  shapeless  propositions 
which  I  heard  myself  putting  forward.  It  required  all  the  good- will 


SUCCESS  OF  THE  LECTURES  193 

of  a  very  well-disposed  audience  to  pull  me  through Only 

towards  the  end  was  I  able  to  put  a  little  life  into  it.  The  sympathy 
of  the  audience  supported  my  efforts,  and  the  lecture  closed  fairly 
well.  It  was  friendship  that  scored  that  success  for  me." 

But  such  an  audience  is  not  easily  found  a  second  time,  and  Ozanam 
could  not  shake  off  his  fears,  until  the  experience  of  the  first  term 
would  have  reassured  him.  The  audience  remained  loyal  and  "  the 
lecture-hall  continued  crowded  even  during  those  lean  days  of  the 
Carnival,  when  students  usually  betake  themselves  elsewhere.  M. 
Le  Clerc,  M.  Mignet,  M.  Cousin,  heaped  kindness  on  the  young  master. 
The  Minister  of  Education  congratulated  him  :  "  But  you  know  how 
lavish  M.  Villemain  is  of  his  compliments  !"  A  delegation  from  the 
Ecole  Normale  was  officially  appointed  to  attend  his  lectures.  The 
Nouveau  Correspondant  requested  that  his  lectures  should  be  reported 
and  circulated.  The  Univers  spoke  of  his  triumphs  in  a  way  that 
embarrassed  him.  The  Journal  des  Debats  referred  to  him  "  in  terms  of 
such  exaggerated  praise  as  tended  to  make  him  ridiculous. ' '  The  Gazette 
of  Augsburg  reproduced  his  lectures  on  Germany.  He  himself 
was  desirous  that  much  of  this  unexpected  honour  should  be 
attributed  to  the  merit  of  certain  prayers,  which  were  being  offered 
for  him  in  Lyons  during  that  time  :  "  Your  pious  intercession  with  God 
is  driving  out  the  demon  of  fear,  which,  like  the  demon  mentioned  in 
the  Gospel,  is  dumb."  The  public  insisted  on  crowding  to  his  lectures  : 
"  The  lecture-hall  is  packed  with  an  audience  determined  to  be  in 
terested  in  the  maze  of  German  history,  in  which  I  myself  am  lost." 

A  young  Christian  professor  had,  at  twenty  seven  years  of  age, 
begun  as  a  master  and  as  a  master  had  been  listened  to — a  new 
experience  in  the  Sorbonne.  Catholics  applauded,  sceptics  listened, 
attracted  by  a  new  eloquence.  "Athens  was  listening,"  writes 
Pere  Lacordaire,  "as  it  would  have  listened  to  Gregory  or  Basil  if, 
instead  of  returning  to  the  remoteness  of  their  own  land,  they  had 
unfolded  at  the  foot  of  the  Areopagus,  where  St.  Paul  preached,  those 
treasures  of  Science  and  Art  which  made  their  names  illustrious." 
After  the  interruption  caused  by  his  marriage  and  honeymoon,  Ozanam 
resumed  his  course  of  lectures  for  the  second  year  under  equally  favour 
able  auspices.  The  young  Professor  returned  to  Paris  in  time  to  take 
his  place  officially  at  the  funeral  of  that  Jouffroy,  against  whose  error 
the  student  of  1831,  just  ten  years  previously,  had  protested.  Truly 
a  remarkable  date  !  Jouffroy  died,  having  seen  the  falseness  of  his 


194  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

philosophy  and  having  been  reconciled  in  heart  to  Christianity,  which 
received  at  the  end  his  tardy  homage. 

Ozanam  wrote  to  his  father-  in-law,  on  the  27th  January,  1842  :  "  I 
have  resumed  my  course  of  lectures,  and  although  the  present  treat 
ment  of  the  subject  matter,  which  I  outlined  last  year,  is  less  general, 
more  specialised,  and  less  attractive,  the  attendance  is  maintained. 
It  is  always  large  and  sympathetic." 

The  specialised  course  of  German  Literature  during  the  academic 
year  1842-3  comprised,  after  the  Niebelungen  Lied,  the  lyrical  poetry 
of  the  Minnesinger.  Ozanam,  in  his  admiration  for  the  Niebelungen 
Lied,  called  that  epic  the  Iliad  of  the  Germanic  nations.  Comparing  it 
with  the  tales  of  the  ages  of  chivalry,  he  finds  in  it  the  rehabilitation 
of  woman,  and  the  first  traces  of  the  Christian  ideal. 

He  writes  as  follows  in  his  Melanges  :  "  The  principal  role  in  the 
Niebelungen  Lied  is  filled  by  a  woman,  Chriemhild.  She  is  the  first 
to  enter  on  the  stage,  never  leaves  it — at  least  she  is  always  present 
to  the  mind — and  when  she  ceases  to  appear,  the  action  closes.  She 
is  a  truly  heroic  figure  ;  her  development  occupies  the  story,  growing 
with  a  terrifying  reality,  from  the  innocence  of  tender  years  to  the 
catastrophe  of  a  bloody  agony.  There  is  the  modesty  of  the  virgin, 
the  tenderness  of  the  spouse,  the  bitter  anguish  of  the  widow,  but 
always  the  motive  is  love.  If  she,  as  tender  as  Andromache  and  as 
faithful  as  Penelope,  effaces  the  types  of  the  ancient  epics  ;  if  she 
affrights  the  terrible  personages,  the  Achilles  and  the  Ulysses  of  the 
German  epic  ;  if  the  weaker  sex  is  chosen  in  which  to  realise  the  heroic 
type,  is  not  that  something  altogether  new,  is  not  that  peculiar  to  a 
chivalrous  age  ?  The  daughter  of  Eve,  raised  from  her  long  obscurity, 
was  rehabilitated  in  Law  and  glorified  in  Art.  The  same  culture 
united  under  different  skies  the  Minnesinger  and  our  Troubadours. 
The  pictures  of  two  women,  Chriemhild  and  Beatrice,  crown  the  two 
greatest  poems  of  barbarian  and  Christian  times." 

The  professor  intended  to  close  that  course  with  dramatic  and 
didactic  poetry.  He  would  afterwards  deal  with  the  prose  writers, 
chroniclers,  romance  writers  and  philosophers  of  that  period.  Indeed 
it  was  a  history  of  Literature  which  was  to  be  treated  in  his  lectures. 
M.  Soulacroix  had  already  expressed  his  desire  to  Ozanam  that  those 
lectures  should  be  worked  up  into  a  volume  at  once  scholarly  and 
popular,  which  would  do  credit  to  its  author,  and  win  academic 
honours,  and  probably  future  preferment  for  him 


GERMANY  AND  CHRISTIANITY  195 

It  was  with  quite  other  views  that  Ozanam  had  taken  up  the 
sacred  duty  of  educating  and  writing.     The  interest  of  religion  was 
the  first  in  importance.     That  scene   of  German  antiquity  was  the 
battle  ground  on  which  the  spirit  of  Catholicity  and  the  spirit  of  false   -  V 
Philosophy  would  wage  a  war  of  ideals. 

A  retrograde  school  of  thought  opposed  Catholicity  at  that  time  in 
Germany.  It  maintained  that  the  peculiar  genius  and  ethnological 
character  of  its  people  were  due  to  pagan  and  barbarian  Germany 
alone.  It  charged  Christianity  with  having  turned  the  nation  from 
the  natural  path  of  development,  and  placed  a  dam  in  the  course 
of  its  mighty  progress.  According  to  it  all  was  pure,  gigantic,  heroic, 
superhuman  in  that  dim  age,  when  the  proud  nation,  virgin  like  its 
forests,  had  not  yet  come  into  contact  with  the  vices  of  a  Latin 
civilisation,  nor  been  emasculated  by  a  new  regime  and  a  new  faith. 
That  was  indeed  a  travesty  of  history  and  the  error  had  to  be  refuted. 
The  brutal  reality  of  that  barbarism,  the  corruption  of  its  morals, 
the  harshness  of  its  laws,  the  ferocity  of  its  wars,  the  cruelty  and 
infamy  of  its  religion  and  its  gods,  had  to  be  exposed.  On  the  other 
hand  Christianity,  the  liberator,  was  to  receive  its  due  in  compen 
sation  for  the  ingratitude  and  calumny  of  that  rude  German  spirit ; 
Christianity  which  had  brought  forth  light  out  of  darkness  and  order 
out  of  chaos,  for  future  ages  of  triumphant  civilisation. 

"  The  dominating  interest  of  the  subject  for  me,"  Ozanam  wrote 
from  Oullins,  on  the  I7th  August,  1842,  "  consists  in  the  fact  that 
Germany  is  indebted  for  her  genius  and  her  entire  civilisation  to 
Christian  ideals  ;  that  her  greatness  was  exactly  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  in  which  she  had  assimilated  those  ideals  ;  that  for  her,  as  for 
us,  there  would  not  be,  there  will  not  be,  any  ofher  true  destiny  than 
that  to  be  found  through  contact  with  Rome,  which  is  at  once  the 
depository  of  all  temporal  human  tradition,  and  of  the  eternal  designs 
of  Providence." 

"  All  that  seems  very  simple,  very  natural,  and  altogether  a  matter 
of  course  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine.  But  beyond  its  banks  national 
pride  plumes  itself  on  an  aboriginal  civilisation,  which  Christianity 
destroyed,  on  a  Literature  which,  but  for  its  contact  with  Latin  letters, 
would  have  developed  with  an  unexampled  splendour,  of  a  future 
which  could  even  yet  be  magnificent,  if  a  degenarate  race  would  restore 
the  Teutonic  ideal  unadulterated.  The  Germanic  type  is  not  Charle 
magne  but  Arminius." 


196  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Ozanam  knew  well  that  he  had  opposed  to  him  every  German 
school  of  history,  literature,  and  philosophy,  from  Hegel  to  Goethe  and 
from  Goethe  to  Strauss.  He  was  engaged  hand  to  hand  with  the 
Orientalist  Lassen,  and  the  historian  Gervinus,  who  were  quite  irre 
concilable  to  Christian  practices,  which  were  spoiling  their  great 
barbarians.  Barbarians  they  would  still  be,  as  Ozanam  shows,  if 
they  had  not  entered,  through  the  portals  of  the  Christian  faith,  into 
possession  of  the  religious,  scientific,  and  political  heritage  of  modern 
nations.  He  adds  that,  by  repudiating  it,  they  can  only  succeed  in 
falling  back  into  their  original  barbarism. 

Literary  history  thus  visualised  was  indeed  true  drama,  the  action 
turning  upon  the  alternative  of  life  or  death  for  society.  Such  in 
struction  was,  however,  only  an  affair  of  outposts.  Ozanam  was 
reserving  all  his  big  artillery  for  the  work  which  was  to  reproduce 
his  lectures  at  a  later  date,  re-enforced,  developed,  and  armed  at  all 
points,  viz.,  Les  Germains  avant  le  Christianisme.  He  outlines  the 
scheme  of  the  work  to  Lallier,  adding  :  "  But,  my  dear  friend,  a  book 
is  no  small  matter  when  time  presses,  particularly  for  one  like  me  who 
writes  very  slowly  and  with  difficulty.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  re 
commending  the  work  which  I  am  commencing  to  your  kind  and 
fraternal  prayers." 

The  first  volume  was  to  have  its  sequel  in  a  second,  demonstrating 
the  civilising  influence  of  the  Gospel  on  the  first  German  tribe  that 
came  under  its  sway,  Le  Christianisme  chez  les  Francs.  A  complete 
demonstration  of  the  progress  of  society  through  Christian  civilisation, 
and  through  it  alone,  stands  out  by  contrast  from  those  two  sketches. 
But  the  Franks  of  that  day  are  the  French  of  ours.  It  is  then  for 
us,  their  heirs,  and  for  our  patriotism,  to  repudiate  the  outrageous 
claims  of  a  barbarism,  which  is  as  ungrateful  as  it  is  arrogant :  "If 
it  is  the  favourite  theory  of  the  Teutonic  school  to  deny  Germany's 
obligations  to  Latin  civilisation,  and  to  refuse  to  credit  our  ancestors 
with  that  education,  it  is  for  us  French,  the  elders  of  the  family,  to  re 
establish  that  claim." 

The  Professor  and  the  publicist  would  not  stop  there.  Those  two 
preliminary  sketches  of  the  history  of  German  literature  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  Les  Germains  avant  le  Christianisme  and  Le  Christianisme  chez 
les  Francs,  which  Ozanam  entitled  his  Germanic,  one  pagan  and  one 
Christian,  are  to  be  followed  by  a  third.  He  made  up  his  mind  that 
he  would  trace  and  reproduce  throughout  the  Middle  Ages  Charle- 


THE  HOLY  ROMAN  EMPIRE  197 

magne's  grandiose  conception  and  political  institution.  The  scope 
of  the  work  would  cover  six  centuries  of  Christianity  and  it  would  be 
entitled  Le  Saint-Empire  wmain  (The  Holy  Roman  Empire). 

Ozanam  wrote  as  follows,  on  the  27th  January,  1842,  to  M. 
Soulacroix  :  "  I  have  consulted  M.  Mignet  and  M.  Ampere  about  my 
studies  and  lectures  on  the  literature  of  the  Middle  Ages — which 
permeates  every  side  of  life — and  they  have  advised  me  to  confine  my 
lectures  to  one  particular  subject,  even  to  one  episode,  which  I  should 
treat  in  detail.  Even  though  it  be  narrower  in  scope,  it  would  still 
be  of  general  interest.  I  believe  I  have  found  that  subject  in  a 
synthetic  delineation  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  Some  of  my  last 
year's  lectures,  perhaps  indeed  some  of  the  best  which  I  have  given, 
would  come  in  well  there.  That  Empire  would  appear  the  universal 
monarchy  of  Christian  ages,  the  ideal  conceived  by  the  genius  of 
Charlemagne  and  but  imperfectly  realised  by  his  successors,  developed 
by  public  law,  living  in  the  philosophy  and  in  the  literature  of  the 
twelfth,  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  It  would  be  seen  later 
struggling  with  the  Papacy,  beaten  in  that  fight,  subsequently  re 
duced  to  the  proportions  of  a  German  Empire,  and  finally  in  our  own 
days  to  that  of  an  Austrian  Empire." 

"  Such  a  work  has  not  yet  been  produced.  It  would  not  be  a  detailed 
history  of  events,  but  rather  a  philosophical  history  of  Charlemagne's 
institution,  which  would  throw  much  light  on  contemporary  life  in 
Mediaeval  Europe.  The  cause  of  Italy's  failure  and  France's  triumph 
would  be  found  in  it.  The  most  celebrated  personages  of  the  age 
would  appear  in  its  scenes,  such  as  Gregory  VII.,  Innocent  III., 
Frederick  Barbarossa,  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg.  Doctors,  jurists,  poets 
would  bear  witness  in  its  pages.  All  my  studies  would  be  co 
ordinated,  perfected,  and  completed." 

Would  such  a  work,  written  in  honour  of  the  Papacy  and  of  the 
Church,  be  calculated  to  win  the  sympathy  of  historians  and 
politicians  ?  That  would  have  been  indeed  to  misconceive  the  public 
spirit  of  the  day.  The  same  letter  went  on  to  say  :  "  One  would  say 
that  there  has  been  for  some  months  a  recrudescence  of  ill-will  towards 
conservative  principles,  the  decline  of  which  the  government  seem  to 
deplore.  A  professor  has  just  been  sent  to  preach  Saint-Simonism 
in  the  College  of  France  ;  an  Italian  refugee  will  replace  M.  Bautain 
in  Strasbourg  ;  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honour  has  been  conferred 
on  the  author  of  a  work  which  is  both  anti-French  and  anti-Catholic. 


I98  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Public  lectures  have  been  authorised  for  workmen,  delivered  by  men 
who  are  notoriously  hostile  to  Christian  ideals  and  who  are  busying 
themselves  in  infusing  new  life  into  dying  prejudices  and  dead  hatred." 
Faced  with  that  opposition,  the  indomitable  Christian  in  Ozanam 
would  not  allow  him  to  dissimulate  his  tenets,  nor  to  sacrifice  one  jot 
of  his  high  ideal  of  the  duty  of  a  historian.  He  wrote,  and  his  father- 
in-law  well  knew  with  what  truth  :  "All  that  makes  me  anxious,  my 
dear  father,  but  pray  do  not  discourage  me.  I  feel  that  the  driving 
force  in  our  convictions  is  greater  than  the  malice  of  our  adversaries. 
I  should  not  gain  by  dissimulating  my  belief,  and  I  should  not  retain 
the  confidence  of  my  chiefs  who  know  what  I  am  ;  I  should  rather  lose 
the  trust  of  the  young  men  who  like  me.  The  maintenance  of  some 
dignity  and  some  independence  in  these  days  is  not  without  value. 
I  have  spoken  of  my  work  and  it  has  been  warmly  approved.  I  shall 
-  now  perfect  the  plan,  and  then  proceed  to  carry  it  out.  After  Easter 
the  necessary  material  will  be  ready." 

Why  were  not  strength  and  life  vouchsafed  to  accomplish  that 
work  ?  Who  else  was  as  well  qualified  or  endowed  to  complete  it  ? 
Can  one  realise  what  a  philosophical  history  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire,  a  signed  proof  work  of  that  master  hand,  would  have  meant 
for  religion  and  literature  ? 

But  whatever  he  wrote  or  taught,  the  Catholic  historian  insisted 
on  his  rights  and  recognised  his  duties.    The  first  is  to  speak  according 
to  his  own  religious  convictions.     "Those  who  do  not  hold  with 
expressions  of  faith  in  a  scientific  treatise,  will  find  perhaps  that  I  have, 
in  mine,   assigned  too  great  a  role  to  Christianity.     But  I  cannot 
conceive  any  true  man  putting  his  hand  to  the  hard  business  of  writing 
without  a  dominating  conviction.     I  do  not  certainly  aspire  to  that 
sorry  independence  of  mind,  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  which  is 
that  one  believes  nothing  and  favours  nothing.     It  is  not  meet,  doubt 
less,  to  be  constantly  professing  one's  faith  ;  but  who,  on  the  other  hand, 
would  dare  to  handle  the  dim  periods  of  history,  to  delve  into  the  origin 
of  nations,  to  review  their  religions,  without  coming  to  some  con 
clusion  on  the  eternal  questions  which  are  being  agitated  ?     Who  can 
come  to  any  such  conclusion  in  an  age  of  doubt  and  controversy,  and 
preserve  his  thought  uninspired  and  his  speech  unmoved  ?" 

Ozanam  gave  clear  expression  to  the  sense  of  freedom  which  exists 
in  a  believer,  side  by  side  with  respect  for,  and  confidence  in,  the 
triumph  of  faith.  "  Two  things  only  may  be  demanded  from  an  author. 


DUTIES  OF  AN  AUTHOR  199 

Firstly,  that  his  belief  shall  be  independent  and  intelligent,  and  Christ 
ianity  requires  no  less.  Secondly,  that  the  desire  to  justify  a  con 
clusion,  shall  not  induce  him  to  distort  facts,  in  order  to  produce  the 
desired  proof.  But  nothing  of  the  kind  worries  Christian  writers. 
Having  no  doubts  on  the  supreme  question  of  God,  the  soul,  and  eternity, 
which  disturb  so  many  others,  they  are  able  to  enter  the  domain  of 
science  with  liberty  and  respect.  They  know  that  it  is  not  permissible 
to  deny  any  truth,  however  trifling,  however  profane,  however  em 
barrassing.  They  make  it  a  point  of  conscience  not  to  hide  any  stain 
which  dims  the  lustre  of  any  glory.  If  their  research  succeeds  in  justify 
ing  revealed  dogma,  they  state  the  fact,  and  rejoice  for  very  love  of 
truth.  If  it  be  not  given  to  them  to  remove  obstacles,  and  to  lead 
science  to  the  point  of  union  with  faith,  they  know  that  others  will 
press  on.  They  are  patient,  for  they  know  that,  though  the  way  is 
long,  God  is  at  the  end." 

The  work  on  the  origin  of  civilisation  in  Europe,  begun  with  his 
Germanie,  was  followed  without  interruption  by  similar  studies  on 
what  Ozanam  called  Italic  aux  temps  barbares.  That  was  the  subject 
matter  of  his  course  of  lectures  during  1843,  and  became  later  the 
Introduction  to  his  book,  La  Civilisation  chretiennc  au  V*  sieclc,  to 
which  we  shall  again  refer.  It  suffices  to  mention  here,  since  it  is 
what  principally  concerns  us  in  this  volume,  the  impression  which 
those  studies  made  on  the  mind  of  the  professor.  Let  us  hear  how 
he  speaks  of  them  to  his  young  brother,  in  a  letter  dated  2$rd  June, 
1843  :— 

"  My  dear  Charles,  I  am  just  finishing  the  first  year  of  the  literary 
history  of  Italy,  from  the  Christian  era  to  the  time  of  Charlemagne. 
That  work  has  been  for  me,  as  well  as  for  my  audience,  a  moving  study 
of  the  Papacy,  through  the  medium  of  which  the  difficult  transition 
from  ancient  to  modern  times  has  been  made  possible.  Well,  my  dear 
Charles,  I  have  had  the  advantage  of  seeing  Christianity  at  close 
quarters.  I  find  its  benefits,  of  which  I  knew  something  already, 
greater  than  I  had  ever  imagined.  I  appreciate  more  than  ever  how 
one  ought  to  love  the  Church,  which  has  done  so  much  to  preserve, 
to  prepare,  to  make  accessible,  the  knowledge,  information,  liberty, 
and  civilisation  which  have  come  down  to  us." 

While  awaiting  his  great  work,  Ozanam  gave  extracts  to  the  Cor- 
rcspondant,  in  the  form  of  summaries,  which  were  laborious  to  him, 
who  must  have  correctness  in  matter  and  perfection  in  form.  It  is  £ 


200  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

propos  of  one  of  these  articles  that  he  wrote  on  the  gth  March,  1843  : 
"  I  have  just  finished  the  most  laborious  six  weeks  in  my  life,  during 
which  I  denied  myself  every  relaxation  and  curtailed  even  my  night's 
rest.  You  know  with  what  difficulty  I  write.  It  becomes  more 
necessary  than  ever  for  me  not  to  let  my  pen  rust,  for  it  is  becoming 
like  an  old  sword,  which  cannot  be  drawn  from  the  scabbard."  But 
he  was  rewarded  for  his  labour  by  the  unspeakable  joy,  of  which  he 
writes  as  follows :  "One  must  experience  also  the  pleasure  of  effort 
which  has  triumphed,  the  infinite  joy  of  having  discovered  truth  or 
of  having  reproduced  beauty,  that  detached  happiness,  that  trembling 
of  the  spirit  as  light  approaches,  giving  it  a  presentiment  of  the 
divinity." 

Nor  did  Ozanam  fail  to  call  the  Spirit  of  Light  to  his  aid,  whether 
in  the  lecture-hall  or  in  his  study.  With  him  it  was  alternately  pre 
paration  and  consecration.  His  closest  friends  relate  :  "  The  day  and 
night  preceding  his  lecture  were  devoted  to  selecting  and  classifying 
his  not^s.  After  that  he  took  a  bird's-eye  view  of  his  subject  in  order 
to  seize  and  to  bring  into  relief  the  master-idea.  It  was  late  at  night 
when  an  anxious  voice  could  tear  him  away  from  his  deep  and  solitary 
meditation.  At  daybreak  he  resumed  the  chain  of  thought  which 
had  been  scarcely  interrupted.  When  the  moment  for  departure 
arrived,  he  left  as  if  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  sacred  mission." 
His  friends  report,  that  they  had  never  known  him  go  to  lectures 
without  first  imploring  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  order  that 
he  might  not  utter  any  word  calculated  to  harm  truth." 

He  is  then  described  as  crossing  the  Luxembourg  gardens  with  rapid 
steps  and  bowed  head,  occasionally  glancing  at  papers,  but  never 
failing  to  observe  and  return  the  sympathetic  greetings  which  he 
received.  Having  reached  the  Sorbonne,  he  appeared  in  the  professor 
ial  chair,  pale,  unstrung,  casting  unseeing  eyes  over  the  audience, 
whose  gaze  he  seemed  to  fear  to  meet. 

I  shall  not  reproduce  here  the  portrait  of  the  orator  drawn  by 
Lacordaire,  who  had  known  himself  the  difficulties  and  the  triumphs 
of  public  oratory.  M.  Ampere  says  more  simply  :  "  Those  who  have 
not  heard  Professor  Ozanam,  do  not  know  the  personality  of  his  genius. 
First,  laborious  preparation,  dogged  research,  and  a  vast  accumula 
tion  of  knowledge  ;  then,  brilliant  delivery  in  beautiful:  language  which 
carried  the  audience  with  it ;  such  was  the  course  of  lectures.  He 
prepared  his  lectures  like  a  Benedictine,  and  delivered  them  like  an 


FATIGUE  201 

orator :  a  double  task  in  which  a  highly-strung  constitution  was  used 
up  and  ultimately  consumed/* 

Therein  lay  the  danger.  M.  Soulacroix,  his  father-in-law,  noted 
with  alarm  the  excessive  fatigue,  which  his  system  of  lecturing  and 
study  induced.  His  Principal,  M.  Victor  Le  Clerc,  expressed  his 
opinion  :  "  Take  care,  Monsieur  Ozanam,  moderate  the  ardour  which 
is  carrying  you  away.  Continue  to  be  an  orator,  but  with  restraint. 
That  impassioned  speech,  that  over-mastering  enthusiasm,  causes 
your  friends  uneasiness.  Think  of  the  future.  We  do  not  wish  that 
any  of  that  future,  which  is  your  due,  should  be  sacrificed.  We  desire 
that,  for  your  sake  and  for  our  own." 

But  the  fatigue  of  the  lecture  did  not  cease  with  its  close.  Further 
cause  awaited  him  at  the  door  of  the  hall  which,  though  it  arose  from 
love,  did  not  diminish  his  exhaustion.  Those  same  men  young,  whom 
he  had  held  hanging  on  his  word,  joined  him  on  leaving  the  hall  and 
accompanied  him  as  a  body-guard  of  intimate  friends.  Those  were 
indeed  his  disciples,  who  sought  to  break  through  the  ranks  and  hold 
personal  and  intimate  speech  with  him,  that  speech  which  is  never 
forgotten.  They  conducted  him  in  this  fashion  to  his  rooms  across 
the  avenues  of  the  Luxembourg  gardens,  in  the  hope  of  a  private  and 
friendly  chat,  which  prolonged  a  lecture  of  already  one  hour  and  a 
half's  duration. 

There  were  others,  and  they  formed  the  greater  number,  who  re 
turned  meditating  silently  on  what  they  had  heard.  It  was  truth 
that  they  had  listened  to,  it  dispelled  doubt,  and  to  it  they  surrendered. 
Ozanam  found  the  following  note  at  the  lodge  of  his  apartment  at  the 
Sorbonne  :  "  Sir,  I  am  leaving  your  lecture.  It  is  impossible  not  to 
believe  what  is  so  convincingly  expressed  K  it  can  give  you  some 
satisfaction,  may  I  even  say,  happiness,  learn  then  that  before  listen 
ing  to  you  I  did  not  believe.  What  many  sermons  have  failed  to  do 
you  have  done  in  one  lecture,  you  have  made  me  a  Christian.  Accept, 
sir,  the  expression  of  my  joy  and  gratitude." 

The  greatest  joy  was  for  the  master,  as  his  brother,  to  whom  he  com 
municated  the  note  immediately,  was  able  to  show. 

The  tone  of  conviction  which  imposed  belief,  impressed  even  the 
most  sceptical  and  irreverent.  Sarcey  wrote:  "He  has  the  sacred 
fire.  There  is  such  an  air  of  interior  conviction  in  this  man,  that 
without  the  appearance  of  doing  so,  he  convinces  and  moves  you. 
He  has  a  tender  and  dreamy  imagination,  and  uses  charming  expressions 


202  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

of  a  poetical  and  melancholy  turn.  To  listen  to  him  brings  tears  to 
one's  eyes."  Sarcey  compares  and  contrasts  him  to  M.  Jules  Simon, 
"  who  is  an  orator  to  his  finger-tips,  but  in  whom  one  feels  somehow 
the  lack  of  conviction,  without  which  one  is  only  a  good  actor." 
Ozanam's  interior  conviction  was  Faith. 

A  course  of  Catholicism  through  history,  professed  officially  and 
warmly  welcomed,  from  a  lay  State  professorial  chair,  was  something 
new  in  the  Sorbonne.  Undoubtedly  the  recent  trio,  M.  Guizot,  M. 
Cousin  and  M.  Villemain,  had  shed  lustre  on  the  higher  studies  of 
Literature.  But,  if  part  of  that  lustre  was  attributable  to  the  eloquence 
of  those  masters,  was  not  its  greatest  part  to  be  attributed  to  the 
political  passions  of  the  hour,  which  those  masters  had  sedulously 
flattered  and  enkindled  ?  The  young  Catholic  professor  advanced, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  the  defence  of  austere  doctrines,  to  wage  war 
against  popular  prejudices,  to  fight  for  a  victory  which  should  be  due 
to  truth  alone.  He  had  for  his  equipment  a  strength  of  conviction, 
which  was  only  equalled  by  his  tender  devotion  to  his  young  men, 
his  disciples,  whom  he  schools  at  the  same  time  in  truth  and  charity. 
It  is  from  this  point  of  view  that  we  shall  consider  the  good  master. 


203 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
MASTER   AND    DISCIPLES. 

STANISLAUS  COLLEGE. — OZANAM  AS  A  PROFESSOR  AND  AS  AN  EXAMINER. — 
PARISIAN   CONFERENCES. — RELIGIOUS   POLEMICS. 

1841-1843. 

Monsieur  and  Madame  Frederick  Ozanam,  now  domiciled  in  Paris, 
had  first  taken  a  simple  flat  in  the  street  Grenelle-St.-Germain.  When 
it  was  rendered  uninhabitable  by  the  heat,  M.  Bailly's  kindness 
found  them  a  better  flat  with  a  garden  in  Fleurus  street,  near  the 
Luxembourg.  Its  windows  looked  out  on  the  broad  and  pleasing 
prospect  of  the  Luxembourg  avenues.  Ozanam  called  it  a  palace. 
The  house  had  been  built  originally  for  Murat,  afterwards  King  of 
Naples.  It  had  subsequently  been  used  as  a  dwelling  by  Prince  Cler- 
mont-Tonnere,  after  which  it  came  into  the  possession  of  M.  Bailly. 
He  was  very  glad  to  be  able  to  let  one  of  the  flats  on  the  upper  stories 
to  the  young  couple.  It  was  thither  we  saw  the  Sorbonne  students, 
in  an  affectionate  throng,  accompanying  Ozanam  after  one  of  his 
lectures. 

They  were  not  his  only  students.  In  addition  to  his  University 
courses,  he  had  undertaken  three  classes  in  Literature  each  week, 
for  the  senior  students  of  Stanislaus  College.  The  college  director 
in  1841  arranged  the  matter  on  terms,  which  were  honourable  to  the 
Professor  and  which  would  also  be  a  welcome  addition  to  his  scanty 
income.  The  director  was  Abbe  Gratry,  thirty-five  years  of  age. 
It  would  be  indeed  difficult  to  imagine  two  more  harmonious  or  more 
sympathetic  characters  than  these  two  philosophers  and  authors. 

Ozanam 's  first  words  to  his  rhetoricians  had  been  those  of  mutual 
respect  and  confidence :  "  I  shall  not  resort  to  corporal  punishment. 
I  intend  to  treat  you  as  men  if  I  find  you  are  men.  If  it  be  otherwise, 
if  you  be  unruly  boys,  I  shall  not  lose  my  time  and  my  trouble  with 


204  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

you."  They  took  him  at  his  word  and  their  regard  and  attachment 
corresponded.  There  went  forth  men  from  that  class. 

Ozanam's  course  in  Stanislaus  College  was  memorable.  One  of 
his  sometime  students,  and  certainly  one  of  the  most  illustrious,  M. 
Caro,  afterwards  Professor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Sorbonne,  and  a 
member  of  the  French  Academy,  will  introduce  us  to  his  class : 

"  I  remember,  as  if  it  was  only  yesterday,  the  first  day  that  we  came 
into  the  class-room.  The  first  impression  was  one  of  curiosity,  and 
I  must  say,  of  rather  a  jeering  kind.  Ozanam  was  neither  handsome, 
elegant,  nor  graceful.  His  appearance  was  common-place,  his  manner 
awkward  and  embarrassed.  Extreme  short-sightedness  and  a  tangled 
mass  of  hair,  completed  a  rather  strange  ensemble.  A  spirit  of  malice 
in  the  class  was  however  rapidly  replaced  by  a  feeling  of  sympathy. 
It  was  impossible  to  remain  long  insensible  to  an  expression  of  kindli 
ness  coming  direct  from  the  heart  through  a  face  which,  if  somewhat 
heavy,  was  yet  not  without  distinction.  Then,  a  smile  of  beautiful 
refinement,  and  at  moments,  a  flashing  intelligence  transformed  the 
face,  as  if  it  had  been  suddenly  illumined  by  a  ray  of  light  from  the 
soul.  He  unbent  willingly  with  a  gaiety,  with  a  laugh  so  boyish  and 
so  natural,  a  wit  so  charming  and  so  well  turned,  that  it  was  a  delight 
to  find  him  in  one  of  those  happy  moments  when  he  let  himself  go. 
We  tempted  him  on  ;  he  refrained,  taking  refuge  in  the  severity  of 
duty  and  the  seriousness  of  instruction.  He  unbent  occasionally. 
Then  you  should  hear  him  !  What  youth  in  that  spirit  so  mature  in 
knowledge  !  What  refinement  and  frankness  !  Refinement  and 
frankness  :  that  constituted  the  charm  of  a  nature  which  had  preserved 
simplicity  of  heart  with  the  most  complete  refinement  of  mind." 

He  was  capable  of  deep  emotion  even  to  tenderness.  A  pupil  of 
his  recalls  the  fact  that  he  never  referred  without  tears  to  Bossuet's 
charming  eulogium  of  the  Duchess  of  Orleans  :  "  She  was  gentle  to 
wards  death  !"  Was  it  perhaps  a  presentiment  of  what  was  to  be 
his  own  ?" 

Ozanam's  class  benefited  by  those  gifts.  "  Without  being  in 
any  way  pedantic,  he  interested  everyone  in  his  studies,  winning  us 
by  reason  or  by  imagination.  He  had  a  way  of  asking  questions 
that  created  an  impression  that  one  had  discovered  what  had  been 
shown.  Those  pleasant  and  dramatic  turns  gave  a  lively  interest 
to  his  lectures,  and  set  up  an  amount  of  discussion  about  him,  which 
became,  with  direction,  a  fruitful  source  of  activity.  The  most  barren 


AT  STANISLAUS  COLLEGE  205 

and  unimpressionable  intellects  were  susceptible  to  his  influence. 
Even  the  dullest  students,  the  Boetians  of  the  College,  thought  they 
understood  without  understanding,  which  was  for  them  a  step  forward. 
He  raised  the  young  men  in  that  way  to  his  own  level,  praising  the 
efforts  of  even  the  dull,  provided  only  that  they  had  the  courage  to 
persevere.  Ozanam  loved  good- will." 

The  instance  of  a  young  student  is  mentioned,  who  notwithstanding 
great  industry,  had  remained  at  the  bottom  of  the  class.  When  Ozanam 
took  charge  of  the  class,  he  took  him  aside  and  was  at  great  pains  to 
make  him  understand.  Surprised  at  being  able  to  follow,  moved  and 
won  by  such  condescension,  the  young  boy  placed  in  the  letter-box 
the  following  touching  epistle  :  "  I  promise  you  most  faithfully  that 
I  shall  show  my  gratitude  by  achieving  the  impossible."  He  carried 
off  a  first  prize  in  the  general  competitions  at  the  close  of  the  year. 
He  became  subsequently  a  member  of  the  Institute  ! 

During  his  year  and  a  half's  Professorship  in  Stanislaus  College 
Ozanam  had  never  to  correct  a  student.  They  venerated  and  loved 
him.  On  one  occasion  the  beloved  master  came  to  give  his  lecture, 
suffering  from  a  heavy  cold,  with  his  face  swollen  and  his  head 
bandaged.  The  wag  of  the  class  had  the  bad  taste  to  ridicule  him.  He 
paid  for  his  bad  taste  on  the  moment.  His  class  mates  hurled  him  out 
the  door  even  before  the  Professor  had  time  to  notice  the  incident. 

Up  to  then  the  College  had  done  badly  in  the  general  competitions ; 
at  the  close  of  that  year  the  class  of  Rhetoric  received  several  firsts. 
A  large  number  of  Ozanam's  students  requested,  at  the  same  time,  the 
favour  of  doing  a  second  year's  Rhetoric  under  him. 

No  professor  had  ever  gained  that  degree  of  rapt  attention  which 
shows  itself  by  complete  silence.  It  was  expressed  in  an  address  to 
him  on  a  feast  day  as  follows :  "As  we  sit  at  your  feet  each  day, 
charmed  and  delighted  with  your  erudite  lectures,  we  fear  to  break 
the  thread  of  your  eloquent  speech.  Let  us,  if  for  once  only,  break 
out  into  applause." 

Caro  writes  again  :  "As  years  went  on,  Ozanam's  former  school 
pupils,  now  University  students,  were  his  friends.  I  never  knew  a 
master  so  beloved.  Young  men  were  inevitably  attracted  to  him, 
and  the  sympathy  was  mutual  and  loyal.  Once  they  had  come  to 
know  him,  they  never  left  him." 

In  addition  to  Caro,  who  has  spoken  for  all,  we  should  also  hear 
M.  Heinrich,  who  was  later  the  Ozanam  of  the  Lyons  Faculty,  M. 


206  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Nourrisson,  the  Christian  Philosopher  of  Stanislaus  College,  of  the 
Institute  and  of  the  College  of  France,  for  whom  Ozanam  was  to  the 
end  a  model  and  a  source  of  consolation. 

There  was  quite  a  distinct  type  of  student  of  the  early  courses,  in 
Ernest  Renan,  who  speaks  of  him  in  his  youthful  essays  :  "  I  never 
left  his  lectures  without  feeling  stronger,  more  determined  to  do  big 
things,  more  courageous,  and  keener  for  the  conquest  of  the  future." 
He  wrote  to  his  dear  mother  in  Brittany  :  "  M.  Ozanam's  course  of 
lectures  is  the  defence  and  justification  of  all  that  is  worthy  of  respect." 
Later,  the  same  man  exclaimed  :  "Ozanam,  how  we  love  him  !  What 
a  beautiful  spirit  !" 

Another  of  his  students,  Prevost  Paradol,  from  the  £cole  Normale 
had  passed  his  licentiate  in  Arts  before  Ozanam,  had  then  become  a 
sceptic,  but  had  come  under  the  charm  of  this  splendid  believer. 
He  deplored  his  death.  When  he  wished,  in  his  melancholy  pages 
on  La  Maladie  et  la  Mort,  to  give  an  example  of  death  transfigured  by 
the  hope  of  immortality,  it  is  Ozanam  who  furnished  it.  "One  does 
not  need  the  refined  and  cultivated  mind,  nor  the  noble  soul  of  Ozanam, 
to  die  as  he  died  lately  in  our  midst.  The  simplest  of  his  brothers 
will  imitate  his  example  on  that  day,  because  they  are  constantly 
imitating  it.  The  practised  sight  of  the  Christian  does  not  require 
to  be  keen  to  contemplate  the  heavens  from  the  place  of  death,  for 
they  are  wide  open  for  him." 

Another  young  graduate  of  the  same  time,  the  Abbe  Goux  from  Tou 
louse,  a  student  of  the  Carmelite  School  in  Paris,  went  to  consult  Ozanam 
on  the  theses  which  he  was  preparing  for  his  Doctorate.  He  was 
received  with  evident  pleasure.  Neither  dinner,  which  was  ready 
waiting,  nor  the  frequent  notification  to  that  effect  which  was  sent 
into  him,  nor  the  good  taste  of  the  student,  who  stood  up  several  times 
to  go,  could  defeat  his  insistent  charity  :  "  Please  sit  down  :  I  shall 
indeed  be  disappointed  if  you  leave  so  soon."  The  theses  submitted 
to  Ozanam  were  none  other  than  Lerins  au  Fe  siecle  and  De  Divi 
Thomae  sermonibus.  That  candidate  for  the  Doctor's  Degree  became 
Bishop  of  Versailles,  and  was  pleased  to  refer  to  that  instance  of  kind 
ness  and  courtesy  in  the  following  terms  :  "  I  shall  never  forget  the 
graciousness  with  which  M.  Ozanam  received  me.  I  have  experienced 
courtesy  from  many  ;  but  with  him  it  was  pure  Christian  charity. 
I  was  quite  unknown  to  him,  I  would  not  again  see  him,  yet  he  treated 
me  as  a  friend  and  a  brother." 


AS  EXAMINER  207 

Cardinal  Lavigerie,  who  was  also  a  student  of  the  Carmelite  School, 
wrote  to  Ozanam's  widow :  "  I  am  happy,  Madam,  to  be  the  means  of 
conveying  to  you  the  blessing  of  Leo  XIII  and  to  discharge  in  a  poor 
way  my  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  good  and  illustrious  deceased.  He 
did  not  disdain  to  grant  me  guidance  and  patronage  in  those  far  off 
days,  when  I  faced  the  examination  for  the  Doctor  of  Literature  in 
Paris.  I  little  dreamt  then  that  the  honours,  which  I  gained  with 
his  help,  were  to  be  carried  later  into  African  deserts." 

On  every  week  day,  except  on  the  days  of  his  lectures,  Ozanam 
devoted  from  eight  to  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  his  students. 
They  crowded  into  his  study,  as  if  it  were  a  Cabinet  Minister's  ante 
chamber.  He  received  them  graciously,  discussed  with  them  at 
great  length  what  concerned  them,  as  if  he  had  nothing  else  to  think 
about  or  to  do.  Although  that  tore  him  from  the  work  of  his  pre 
dilection,  yet  he  showed  neither  impatience  nor  regret. 

I  cannot  include  in  the  number  of  Ozanam's  students  the  candidates 
for  the  Academic  Degrees.  He  sat  as  one  of  the  examiners  several 
times  each  year.  It  was  in  those  examinations,  more  particularly 
in  the  B.A.  Degree,  that  his  patience  was  sorely  tried — "  I  am  over 
whelmed  with  examinations  for  the  Degrees  of  B.A.,  M.A.,  and 
Doctor.  It  is  a  tiresome  business  to  spend  long  days  listening  to 
answers  to  questions.  But  it  is  still  more  tiresome  to  interview  candi 
dates  and  their  parents  seeking  advice  and  favours  ;  the  sons  whom 
they  bring  with  them  to  make  familiar  with  my  appearance  ;  and 
those  who  come  later  to  know  the  causes  of  failure  and  the  best  way  to 
make  good  ;  not  counting  the  parents  who  lose  their  temper,  who 
defend  mistranslations  vigorously,  crying  aloud  against  the  injustice 
and  unreasonableness  of  examiners." 

He  has  described  himself  several  times  in  his  correspondence  "Sitting 
at  that  blessed  little  green  table,  the  Greek  Professor  on  one  side  and 
the  Mathematical  on  the  other,  between  Examiners  who  are  bored 
and  candidates  who  are  in  difficulties,  awaiting  his  turn  to  ask  questions 
on  History,  Literature,  Geography,  of  all  lands  and  of  all  times.  And 
what  answers  !  Listen  :  'What  Assembly  preceded  that  of  the  States- 
General  of  1789  ?'  The  audience  whisper  :  '  The  notables.'  The 
candidate  answers  '  The  notaries  !' — The  examiner  proceeds  "  You 
are  better  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Louis  XIV's  age.  What  was 
the  name  of  the  Minister  of  Finance  who  was  notorious  for  his  mis 
fortunes  ?'  The  audience  whisper  'Fouquet.'  The  candidate  answers 


208  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

'Fould.'  Another  informs  him  that  Montesquieu  was  a  great  Bishop! 
Ozanam  admits  that  the  pen  fell  from  his  fingers. 

Ozanam  was  severe  as  an  examiner,  particularly  severe  in  the  case 
of  those  candidates  in  whom  he  was  interested,  still  more  so  in  the  case 
of  ecclesiastics,  on  whom  rested  the  obligation  of  settling  a  standard 
of  knowledge.  On  enquiry  as  to  the  cause  of  failure  of  a  young  eccles 
iastical  student,  Ozanam  pointed  out  in  detail  the  mistakes  in  composi 
tion  which  he  had  made,  and  added  with  severity  :  "  Dear  Rev.  Father, 
the  habit  which  you  wear  requires,  nay  commands,  us  to  be  more 
exacting.  When  one  aspires  to  the  honour  of  the  priestly  state,  one 
must  not  run  the  risk  of  compromising  its  dignity  by  such  failure. 
Noblesse  oblige." 

M.  Maxime  de  Montrond  relates,  on  the  other  hand,  that  he  never, 
at  any  examination  at  which  he  assisted,  allowed  any  attack  on  the 
Church  or  on  religion  to  pass  unchallenged  :  "On  one  occasion  a  young 
free-thinking  Italian,  a  candidate  for  the  Licentiate,  had  hypnotised 
the  Board  of  Examiners  with  his  charming  eloquence.  Ozanam 's 
turn  for  examination  arrived  :  "Sir,"  he  said  in  an  incisive  voice, 
"  I  admire  your  ability  but  not  your  knowledge.  You  have  not  done 
justice  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  in  accusing  them  of  having  arrested 
the  course  of  civilisation.  You  are  not  right  in  that ;  you  would  have 
done  better  on  the  contrary  in  asserting  that  they  quickened  its  march." 
There  was  general  assent  to  that  statement. 

Ozanam  met  many  of  his  old  friends  again  in  the  Catholic  Study 
Circle.  Private  meetings,  called  Conferences,  were  being  organised, 
in  which  various  subjects  were  handled  by  religious  and  scientific 
writers.  They  were  listened  to  there  better  than  elsewhere,  with  the 
calm  and  the  dignity  befitting  intellectual  matters.  Ozanam  accepted 
the  invitation  to  preside  over  the  Conference  of  Literature.  Had  he 
not  been  already  trained  for  that  by  the  Conference  of  History  and 
Philosophy  which  he  himself  had,  with  M.  Bailly's  aid,  organised 
twenty  years  before  in  Paris  ?  We  have  not  the  address  which  the 
President  delivered  to  the  young  men.  We  know  only  this,  that  he 
exhorted  the  students  to  engage  in  the  work  of  their  time,  the  work  of 
study.  He  said  this  :  "We  do  not  work  now-a-days.  Seven  or  eight 
hours  a  day  given  to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  make  our  friends  uneasy 
about  our  miserable  health.  Let  us  however  be  clear,  that  we  are  not 
to  regard  ourselves  as  dispensed  by  faith  from  research,  fatigue,  or  late 
hours.  Labour,  the  punishment  of  the  fall,  is  the  law  of  regeneration. " 


CATHOLIC  CIRCLE  AND  RETREATS  209 

Again  in  the  Catholic  Circle  he  spoke  to  the  young  literary  elite 
of  Paris  :  "  Take  up  in  all  seriousness,  gentlemen,  what  our  ancestors 
modestly  termed  the  business  of  literature.     Explore  diligently  the 
field  of  knowledge.     God  is  at  the  end  of  all  knowledge,  but  He  wishes 
that  we  seek  to  find  love,  and  He  vouchsafes  that  we  shall  find  Him 
so  as  not  to  despair.    The  path  of  knowledge  is  long,  my  dear  young 
people,  and  we  are  only  at  the  beginning.     If  it  be  not  given  to  us  to)  *  v 
see  the  solution,  we  shall  at  least  have  pointed  out  the  goal  to  others,]  C_ 
who  will  reach  it.     They  will  have  the  joy  of  triumph,  Providence^ 
will  have  the  glory." 

Besides  the  Catholic  Study  Circle  there  were  other  and  higher  meet 
ings  towards  which  Ozanam  led  the  young  men.  Such  were  the  Re 
treats  in  preparation  for  the  Easter  Holy  Communion,  which  Pere 
de  Ravignan  had  inaugurated  in  Holy  Week  1842,  at  Notre  Dame. 
He  writes  to  his  younger  brother:  "Since  Monday,  more  than  six 
thousand  men  have  been  present  each  evening  at  the  Retreat  given 
by  Pere  de  Ravignan.  It  is  not  possible  to  hear  anything  more  elvated 
or  more  solid  than  his  sermons,  nor  to  find  anything  more  splendid 
than  the  congregations  .  .  .  To-day,  a  general  Communion  of  men 
closed  the  exercises.  Our  serried  ranks  filled  the  centre  of  the  Church, 
which  is  twice  the  length  of  the  Church  of  St.  John  in  Lyons.  There 
were  present  rich  people  and  nobility  covered  with  decorations  ;  by 
their  side  poor  people  in  working  smocks,  soldiers,  students  of  the 
ficole  Normale  and  of  the  Polythecnic,  and  children ;  especially  students 
in  large  numbers.  The  Holy  Communion,  given  by  two  priests,  lasted 
one  hour.  Then  a  magnificent  Te  Deum  filled  the  Church  and  we 
parted  in  a  state  of  deep  emotion." 

Even  after  the  Te  Deum  all  was  not  quite  finished,  as  a  rule,  for 
Ozanam.  What  his  letter  does  not,  but  what  his  brother  does  tell 
us,  is  that,  on  leaving  Notre  Dame  and  while  still  filled  with  the  pre 
sence  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  pious  communicant  did  not  fail,  before 
returning  home,  to  visit  the  homes  of  his  poor  families  of  the  Con 
ference.  He  thus  returned  to  Our  Lord,  in  the  person  of  His  suffering 
poor,  the  v'sit  which  he  had  just  received  from  Him  in  the  Holy 
Eucharist.  During  his  whole  life  he  was  pleased  to  complete  a  solemn 
morning  in  this  solemn  way.  It  was  the  perfecting  of  his  religious 
work. 

The  poor,  charity,  the  Conference  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  furnished 
fresh  meeting-ground  for  the  Master  and  his  disciples.  He  gave 


210  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

a  warm  welcome  to  his  young  brother  Charles,  who  had  joined  the 
Conference  in  Lyons  and  who  desired,  at  his  instance,  to  come  to  the 
Society  in  Paris  :  "  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  my  dear  brother, 
has  in  store  for  you,  those  pious  and  fraternal  sources  of  joy  which  I 
have  found  so  consoling  and  so  numerous.  I  cannot  help  feeling 
very  happy  and  very  proud  at  seeing  you  enter  the  Conference.  It 
constitutes  a  further  bond  between  us.  Let  us  thank  Divine  Pro 
vidence  for  having  made  us  both  enter  this  young  and  growing  family, 
which  is  perchance  destined  for  the  regeneration  of  France.  It  is 
training  a  band  of  Christian  recruits  for  the  liberal  professions,  for 
Science,  for  Art,  for  the  State.  You  should  devote  yourself  with  joy 
to  Associations  placed  under  the  patronage  of  such  a  saint,  which  have 
received  such  incredible  blessings  from  Providence." 

On  the  28th  February,  1842,  Ozanam,  who  had  now  been  three 
months  in  Paris,  had  the  pleasure  of  being  present  at  one  of 
the  Quarterly  General  meetings  of  the  Society. 

There  were  present  six  hundred  young  men,  as  many  as  the  hall 
would  hold,  "  assembled,"  as  he  expresses  it,  "to  review  what  good 
had  been  done  and  to  consider  what  was  yet  to  be  done."  The  Honor 
ary  Secretary  presented  a  Report  of  the  Society.  .  .  .  Two  thousand 
Brothers  in  Paris  and  the  provinces :  one  thousand  five  hundred 
families  helped  in  Paris  :  a  Home,  and  a  Patronage  established  for 
apprentices.  .  .  .  Numberless  instances  of  spiritual  aid  not  so 
obvious  but  more  beneficent. 

"  But,"  adds  Ozanam,  "  the  Honorary  Secretary  did  not  sufficiently 
emphasize  the  wonder  of  that  community  of  faith  and  good  works. 
It  set  out  to  train  a  new  generation  for  the  future,  which  would  be 
fired  by  a  determination  to  raise  the  moral  tone  of  society  in  Science, 
Art,  Commerce,  Administration,  the  University,  the  Magistracy,  the 
Bar ;  and  to  become  better  itself  in  order  to  make  others  better." 

Three  months  later,  on  the  first  Sunday  in  May,  Ozanam  received 
Holy  Communion  in  the  Church  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  rue  de  Sevres, 
at  the  altar  and  before  the  shrine  of  that  glorious  apostle  of  charity. 
He  was  accompanied  by  deputations  from  twenty-five  Conferences 
in  Paris.  In  the  Church  were  missionaries  from  distant  lands,  in  the 
gallery  the  double  and  triple  folds  of  the  white  bonnets  of  the  Sisters 
of  Charity. 

In  the  evening  Ozanam  spoke,  in  the  usual  meeting-hall  of  the  Society, 
on  the  inundations  of  the  Rhone.  The  Prefect  of  the  Department 


HIS  WARNING  211 

had  come  to  an  arrangement  with  the  Archbishop,  by  which  the  Society 
would  become  the  medium  for  the  distribution  of  funds-in-aid  in  the 
Vaise  area — the  area  most  devastated  by  the  floods.  The  Lyons' 
Conferences  had,  in  seven  months,  distributed  up  to  six  hundred 
thousand  francs  to  the  ruined  families. 

The  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  chairman  of  the  meeting,  an  old  man 
with  white  beard,  raising  his  hands  to  Heaven  cried  out :  "  This  then 
is  calumniated  France,  this,  her  calumniated  youth  !"  When  he  had 
blessed  the  meeting  and  it  had  disbanded,  groups  of  friends  remained 
here  and  there  in  the  hall  exchanging  words  of  encouragement* 

Ozanam's  encouraging  words  were  coupled  with  grave  advice. 
After  referring  to  the  Report  of  the  progress  of  the  Society,  he  laid 
his  finger  on  the  danger:  "One  thing  alone,  Brothers,  can  stay  our 
progress  and  undo  our  work,  and  that  is  the  falling-away  from  the 
spirit  of  our  early  days.  The  pharisaical  spirit,  which  would  sound 
the  triumph  before  us :  a  selfish  regard  for  ourselves  and  for  our  work, 
which  would  underrate  the  virtue  and  merit  of  everything  outside 
our  own  little  circle  :  a  piling  on  of  needs  and  of  good  works  which 
would  weary  and  drive  out  our  Brothers  :  a  verbose  philantrophy 
preferring  words  to  deeds  :  or  else,  an  officialdom,  waich  would  hamper 
our  forward  march  and  tie  up  our  machinery  with  red-tape  :  all  that  will 
hinder  us.  Above  all,  we  shall  be  destroyed  if  we  ever  forget  the 
humility  and  simplicity  which  reigned  over  our  first  meetings,  which 
made  us  love  obscurity  without  reasoning  why,  and  which  probably 
won  for  us  the  favour  of  such  happy  increase.  For  God  is  pleased 
to  bless  the  tiny  and  the  inconspicuous,  the  mighty  tree  in  the  little 
seed,  man  in  his  cradle,  societies  in  the  simplicity  and  humility  of 
their  foundation." 

On  the  Sth  December,  1843,  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
Ozanam,  in  a  Report  presented  to  the  Quarterly  General  Meeting, 
raised  the  young  Society  from  its  humble  position,  pointing  it  out, 
as  it  were,  borne  in  the  arms  of  Mother  Church,  and  cradled  on  her 

*The  new  Conferences  in  Paris  since  1S35  were  in  order  of  date  of  foundation  : 
St.  Merry,  St.  Roch,  St.  Xicholas-des-Champs,  St.  Gennain-des-Pres,  St.  Francis 
Xavier  des  Missions,  St.  Severin,  St.  Louis  d'Autin,  St.  Medard,  St.  Nicholas 
du  Chardonnet,  Xotre-Dame  des  Victoires,  St.  Marguerite,  Notre-Dame  de 
1'Abbaye  aux  Bois,  St.  Jacques  du  Haut-Pas,  St.  Germain- I'Auxerrois,  St, 
Valerie,  St.  Gervais,  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  St.  Thomas  d'Acquin,  St,  Pierre 
de  Chaillot,  St.  Marie  des  Batignolles,  St.  Denis  du  Saint- Sacrement,  St. 
Eustache,  les  Ouinze-Vingts,  St.  Lambert  de  Vaugirard,  St.  Jean  du  College  de 
Stanislas  4th  October,  1S41.  V.  Origines  de  la  Soci£t£,  p.  14  in  1S41. 


212  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

knees  since  its  earliest  days.  He  speaks  as  follows  of  the  episcopal 
protection  : — "  We  hailed  it  as  a  mark  of  Heaven's  favour,  as  a  precious 
act  of  incorporation  in  the  Church,  above  all  as  a  safeguard  against 
ourselves.  God,  Who  disdains  not  the  weak,  deigned  to  grant  us  this 
favour  in  a  degree  which  surpassed  our  hopes." 

After  His  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  who  presided  frequently 
at  the  Quarterly  General  Meetings,  Ozanam  named  the  Archbishops 
of  Avignon,  Cambrai,  Tours,  the  Bishops  of  Constances,  Tulle,  St. 
Flour.  He  read  letters  from  the  Bishops  of  Besan9on  Dijon,  le  Mans, 
St.  Claude,  Aire,  Rodez,  Versailles,  Bourges,  Rennes,  St.  Brieuc,  Autun, 
Langres,  Limoges.  "  Brothers,  our  Conferences  in  the  provinces 
have  grown  up  at  the  portals  of  cathedrals,  they  exist  in  forty-five 
dioceses  with  the  approbation  of  the  ecclesiastical  authority,  and 
under  the  patronage  of  prelates  who  have  freely  opened  to  them  their 
chapels,  their  palaces  and  their  purses."  He  mentions  the  Archbishop 
of  Lyons,  the  Cardinal  of  Arras,  the  Bishops  of  Amiens,  Nimes,  Metz, 
Orleans.  "  The  episcopacy  of  France  holds  the  first  place  in  the 
history  of  Christian  civilisation.  All  our  great  achievements  have 
been  accomplished  under  their  aegis  ;  the  most  insignificant  can  develop 
under  their  protection."  Ozanam  follows  the  Society  to  Rome,  to 
the  Vatican,  and  to  our  members  kneeling  at  the  feet  of  the  Holy  Father 
praying  for  his  blessing  on  the  young  family  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 
He  had  been  himself  one  of  the  first  of  such  petitioners. 
,  In  his  funeral  oration  on  Ozanam,  Lacordaire  spoke  of  "  privileged 
creatures,  who  came  direct  from  the  hand  of  God,  when  God  joins 
tenderness  to  genius  in  order  to  enkindle  the  world."  It  is  tenderness 
goodness,  charity,  indulgence,  sweetness  that  he  admires  in  Ozanam, 
even  in  the  fiercest  of  his  combats  "  in  which  invincible  under  the 
protection  of  the  buckler  of  truth,  he  moderates  the  strength  which 
he  feels  in  his  sword,  lest  he  should  slay  some  fellow-being  who  might 
yet  be  converted  and  live." 

In  the  years  following  1840  polemics  were  waged  between  political 
and  religious  parties.  It  happened  even  with  Catholics  that  expressions 
were  written  and  uttered  which  neither  the  justice  of  the  cause  nor 
the  excesses  of  the  adversaries  justified.  The  spirit  of  proportion 
and  justice  in  Ozanam  was  offended  and  frightened.  Many  thought 
as  he  did.  The  friend  of  the  young  men  thought  it  his  duty  to  sound 
a  note  of  warning  against  violent  methods  which  do  not  conduce  to- 
present  truth  in  an  inviting  manner  to  unbelievers. 


HIS  ADDRESS  213 

His  chairmanship  of  the  literary  conference  of  the  Catholic  Circle; 
on  a  solemn  occasion,  provided  him  with  his  opportunity.  As  chair 
man,  he  had  to  deliver  an  address  at  a  meeting  graced  by  the  presence 
of  Monsignor  Affre,  the  new  Archbishop.  There  were  also  present 
a  large  number  of  people  of  position,  who  were  in  sympathy  with  the 
Society  and  with  the  chairman.  "  Before  accepting  this  honour/' 
he  says  himself,  "  I  had  consulted  his  Grace  on  the  subject  matter 
of  my  address.  He  insisted  that  I  should  deal  with  questions  in  which 
he  desired  to  make  a  public  pronouncement." 

The  address  was  on  The  Literary  Duties  of  Christians.  He  dealt 
with  orthodoxy  in  literature  as  its  foundation,  its  inspiration  and  its 
security.  He  reviewed  the  attack  and  defence  of  truth  according  to 
the  spirit,  the  teaching,  and  the  examples  of  the  Gospel,  of  the  apostles, 
and  the  apologists  of  faith.  It  should  be  regulated  by  the  twin  love 
of  truth  and  charity,  of  pity  and  peace.  He  quoted  the  lines  of  Pascal : 
"God's  design,  which  arranges  all  things  with  sweetness  and  gentleness, 
is  to  implant  religion  in  the  mind  through  reason,  and  in  the  heart 
through  grace.  Let  us  commence  by  pitying  unbelievers,  for  they 
are  already  unhappy  enough.  They  must  not  be  offended  unless  for 
their  benefit ;  offence  only  does  harm."  Ozanam  examines  the  case 
of  those  who  deny  and  those  who  doubt. 

"  We  must  not  despair  of  those  who  deny.  There  is  no  question 
of  discrediting,  only  of  convincing  them.  Let  us  beware  of  firing  their 
pride  by  insult,  thereby  driving  them  on  to  damn  themselves,  rather 
than  unsay  themselves.  Whatever  be  the  foulness  or  brutality  of 
their  attacks,  let  us  give  them  an  example  of  nobleness  in  polemics." 

"As  for  those  who  doubt — and  that  is  much  the  larger  number — • 
many  of  them  feel  the  sorrow  of  not  being  able  to  believe.  They  are 
entitled  to  compassion,  even  esteem.  In  the  reconstruction  of  truth, 
which  is  the  honour  of  our  age,  in  the  restoration  of  spiritual  doctrine, 
several  such  have  co-operated  with  us.  We  must  not  be  ungrateful., 
We  have  traversed  half  the  journey  together.  Let  us  remember  that 
it  was  not  without  their  aid  that  we  have  advanced  farther  than  they; 
and  let  us  stretch  out  a  helping  hand  to  them." 

He  closed  his  address  by  begging  Catholics  not  to  compromise  the 
recent  triumphs  and  the  hopes  for  the  future  by  mistakes  and  quarrels  : 
"  The  movement  for  the  return  of  souls  to  the  true  fold  must  be  con 
ducted  with  infinite  care,  if  it  is  to  run  its  full  course.  We  are  still 
too  far  from  the  Promised  Land  to  assume  the  airs  .of  conquerors  and 


214  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

masters.  Let  us  hold  on  to  our  mountain-stocks  for  fear  of  false  steps 
and  stumbles,  let  us  regret  neither  the  time  nor  the  trouble.  God's 
chosen  people  were  forty  years  on  the  way  ;  it  is  true  that  it  was  under 
the  leadership  of  the  prophet,  and  that  he  did  find  his  resting-place. 
The  Church  of  France  has  not  finished  traversing  the  desert,  but  she 
too  has  her  Moses,  and  we  shall  reach  the  Promised  Land." 

Pointed  out  and  invited  by  the  closing  words,  the  Archbishop  arose 
to  say  a  few  simple  plain  words  in  his  usual  way  ;  "  I  have  nothing 
to  add  to  what  you  have  just  heard  with  acclamation.  I  should  fear 
to  detract  from  it,  and  shall  confine  myself  to  simply  endorsing  what 
has  been  said  with  all  my  heart.  The  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from 
the  chairman's  address,  are  summed  up  and  confirmed  exactly  in  the 
following  words  of  the  Imitation  of  Christ : — 

"A  passionate  man  perverts  even  good  into  evil, 
A  good  peaceable  man  turns  all  things  to  good." 

It  is  in  fact  what  has  just  been  said.  I  am  almost  afraid  to  translate 
the  title  of  the  chapter  in  which  those  lines  occur  Of  a  good  peaceable 
man.  I  wish  each  of  you  to  be  such  a  man." 

It  was  indeed  an  address  on  peace,  which  was  summed  up  in  that 
word  of  peace.  It  was  therefore  with  great  grief  that  Ozanam  wrote 
to  M.  Dufieux,  in  June  1843  :  "  I  have  just  read  in  the  Univers  an  article 
published  on  Ascension  Day  entitled,  On  Moderation  and  Zeal,  in  which 
I  was  described  as  a  deserter  from  the  Catholic  struggle.  That  was 
the  reply  of  the  paper  to  my  address,  which  was  not  in  any  way  dir 
ected  at  it.  Apologies  have  been  offered  to  me  .  .  ." 

Ozanam 's  letter  concludes  without  recrimination,  by  expressing  the 
hope  that  "  well-considered  ideas  and  serious  discussion  will,  please 
God,  prevail  over  ill-tempered  exchanges,  in  which  the  wicked  would 
succeed  better  than  we." 

To  his  friends  in  Lyons,  who  were  readers  of  the  Univers,  Ozanam 
sent,  for  his  justification,  the  text  of  his  address  with  the  speech  of 
the  Archbishop,  which  he  had  had  printed  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Catholic 
Circle.  "  I  fear  lest  their  friendship  might  be  offended  by  the  account 
of  my  address :  hence,  I  forward  you  the  enclosed  copies." 

The  letter  closes  with  these  lines,  written  in  the  presence  of  God  : 
"  My  dear  friend,  help  me  with  your  prayers.  Obtain  for  me  that 
spirit  of  body  and  mind  which  all  Christianity,  kneeling  in  the  solemn 
ceremonies  of  Pentecost,  asks  from  Heaven  at  the  moment.  I  hope, 
with  the  blessing  of  God  and  with  your  help,  that  I  shall  never  fail 


TRUTH  215 

in  the  fraternal  mandate  from  my  friends,  to  defend  the  inseparable 
interests  of  Religion  and  true  Science." 

Some  months  later,  on  the  I3th  October,  Ozanam  returned  to  Paris, 
leaving  his  wife  with  her  own  people  in  Oullins,  near  Lyons.  In  a 
letter  he  appealed  to  her  to  bear  witness  to  his  many  and  important 
engagements.  The  loneliness  caused  by  the  absence  of  his  wife 
threw  into  relief  the  favours  of  God,  the  duties  and  the  graces  of  his 
We :  "  Well,  my  dearest,  passing  over  in  my  mind  the  long  series  of 
events  in  my  life  from  the  age  of  fourteen,  when  I  first  felt  the  call  to 
devote  my  life  to  the  propagation  of  truth,  I  can  state  solemnly,  that 
all  the  experience  of  my  later  years  confirms  my  belief  in  that  vocation. 
I  know  that  truth  has  not  need  of  me,  but  that  it  is  I  who  have  need 
of  it.  The  cause  of  Christian  knowledge  and  of  Truth  has  sunk  its 
roots  deep  into  my  heart.  Since,  therefore,  it  is  threatened,  since 
Literature  is  the  field  of  battle  on  which  the  quarrel  will  be  decided, 
since  instruction  will  have  a  great  part  to  play,  since  Paris  is  the  one 
city  in  France,  and  perhaps  in  the  world,  where  intellectual  campaigns 
are  decided,  since  Providence,  through  my  family,  through  my  friends, 
through  the  irresistible  inspiration  which  I  then  felt,  has  placed  me 
in  the  breach,  I  shall  not  desert  it.  Good,  elsewhere  impossible,  can 
be  accomplished  here.  I  shall  make  use  of  the  favour  of  the  public, 
with  which  I  am  honoured,  to  further  that  end.  I  shall  make  it  my 
aim  to  ensure  the  life  of  that  movement,  by  grouping  and  directing 
young  men  in  the  way  of  good  study.  I  shall  write,  so  that  the  little 
which  I  may  be  able  to  contribute  to  knowledge,  may  not  be  lost  in 
fugitive  addresses." 

"  It  is  possible  that  I  shall  gain  neither  honours  nor  fortune.  But 
daily  bread  has  not  failed  me  so  far,  and  as  long  as  the  hand  of  a  dear 
and  pious  friend  is  there  to  share  it,  it  will  suffice." 

"  But  to  accomplish  that  work  industry,  strength,  and  perseverence 
are  necessary.  The  first  way  to  get  them  is  to  ask  them  from  God.  .  . 
I  place,  therefore,  these  and  all  other  resolutions  under  the  protection 
of  Him  Who  creates  them  in  me.  I  shall  lay  them  at  the  foot  of  His 
altar.  When  you  see  me  you  will,  I  hope,  find  me  fit  to  carry  that 
work  to  a  successful  issue." 


2i6 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    UNIVERSITY. 
LIBERTY  OF  TEACHING.—"  The  Correspondant"—*  FULL  PROFESSOR.— 

DISTURBANCE    OF    STUDENTS    IN    THE    SORBONNE. — M.    LENORMANl'S 
LECTURES. 

1844-1845. 

The  year  1843  and  succeeding  years  recall  the  demands  of  French 
Catholics  for  freedom  of  teaching,  as  opposed  to  University  monopoly. 
We  have  seen  Ozanam  affrighted  at  the  recrudescence  of  infidel  doc 
trines,  as  well  as  at  the  honours  showered  on  those  in  the  University, 
who  distilled  venom  into  their  lectures  or  writings.  The  Chairs  of 
M.  Quinet  and  M.  Michelet  were  growing  in  popularity  in  the  College 
of  France  by  the  side  of  the  Sorbonne.  They  were  armed  against 
the  Church  with  passion  and  with  imagination,  and  with  these  they 
fascinated  young  men  :  the  fascination  of  the  serpent's  eye  and  the 
irridescence  of  its  colours  in  the  brilliant  sun  of  the  period. 

The  young  Professor  did  not  rest  content  with  complaining.  He 
wrote  as  follows  to  M.  Dufieux  on  the  5th  June,  1843  :  "  I  am  making 
all  possible  efforts,  feeble  though  they  be,  to  maintain  a  vigorous 
struggle  against  the  teaching  of  the  Professors  in  the  College  of  France. 
I  am  working  in  concert  with  M.  Lenormant,  M.  Coeur,  Professor 
of  Sacred  Eloquence,  and  several  others.  While  M.  Quinet  and  M. 
Michelet  are  attacking  Catholicity  itself,  under  the  name  of  Jesuitism, 
I  am  upholding,  in  three  consecutive  lectures,  the  Papacy,  the  Friars 
and  monastic  obedience.*  I  have  delivered  them  to  a  large  audience 
composed  of  the  same  individuals  who  stamped  and  applauded  else 
where  the  previous  day.  There  was  not  any  noise.  I  shall  seize  the 
many  opportunities  which  are  sure  to  arise  in  my  subsequent  lectures 
of  establishing  firmly  the  teaching,  benefits  and  wonders  of  the  Church." 

Those  courageous  lectures  were  at  once  published  by  him.     "  Read 

*See  Civilisation  chr£tienne  au  V«  siecle,  chap.  XII. 


FOISSET  217 

the  Correspondent,"  he  wrote  to  his  two  brothers.  "  You  will  find 
in  it  a  summary  of  my  lecture  on  the  Friars ;  it  is  a  rejoinder  to  the 
attacks  of  the  Professors  of  the  College  of  France." 

The  young  professor  notified  M.  Theophile  Foisset,  the  main  support 
of  the  Correspondant  of  his  "  willingness  to  enter  for  the  Dissertation 
on  Voltaire  "  established  for  competition  by  the  French  Academy. 
"All  irreligion  in  France  proceeds  from  Voltaire,"  he  wrote  :  "I  am 
not  sure  if  there  is  any  more  dangerous  enemy  to  Voltaire  than  His 
tory." 

It  was  through  the  Correspondant  that  Ozanam  became  a  close 
friend  of  M.  Foisset,  whose  name  occurs  here  for  the  first  time.  He 
had  resumed,  in  collaboration  with  M.  de  Montalembert,  and  with 
M.  Wilson,  as  manager,  the  work  of  defence  which  had  been  interrupted 
.since  1831.  Ozanam,  who  had  visited  him  in  his  country -place  at 
Bligny,  Cote  d'Or,  describes  him  as  "surrounded  by  a  loving  family, 
devoting  his  leisure  time  after  his  busy  magisterial  duties  to  works 
of  charity  and  to  the  cultivation  of  literature.  There,  was  to  be  seen  a 
picture  of  the  dignity  of  life  and  of  the  patriarchal  simplicity  of  the 
I7th  century  magistrates."  United  in  faith  and  affection,  those  two 
Christian  men  had  prayed  together  for  one  another  in  the  little  chapel 
•attached  to  the  house.  A  memorable  stroll  during  the  silent  hours  of 
the  night,  in  a  garden  illuminated  with  lanterns,  had  led  them  thither. 
What  principally  attracted  them  one  to  the  other  was  a  spirit  of  modera 
tion  which  removed  them  equally  from  the  extremists  of  both  sides. 
His  example  and  advice  were  very  dear  to  Ozanam,  as  witness  :  "You 
.are  a  man  of  counsel  as  well  as  of  action.  Your  intervention  will  be 
probably  more  necessary  than  ever,  at  the  opening  of  a  critical  campaign 
for  Catholic  interests  " 

That  campaign  had  just  been  brilliantly  inaugurated  by  the  manifesto 
•of  M.  de  Montalembert  on  The  Duty  of  Catholics  in  the  question  of 
.the  Liberty  of  Teaching. 

That  manifesto  mentioned  the  name  of  Ozanam  with  great  emphasis, 
as  one  of  the  exceptions  in  the  University.  "  Yes,  indeed,  there  are 
in  the  University,  from  the  College  of  France,  and  the  Sorbonne  down 
to  the  head-masters  of  the  primary  schools,  a  small  number  of  upright 
men,  who  have  what  is  greater  than  talent,  faith.  Christians  like  M. 
Lenormant  and  M.  Ozanam,  protest  by  the  publicity  of  their  Christ 
ianity  and  the  solidity  of  their  knowledge,  against  the  scandals  of  their 
•colleagues  in  their  lectures.  But  are  such  men  in  the  majority  in 


2i8  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

University  establishments  ?     Are  they  at  one  with  their  colleagues  ? 
etc." 

The  mention  of  his  name,  as  being  in  opposition  to  the  main  body 
of  professors,  could  be  a  source  of  danger  to  M.  Ozanam,  and  the 
prudent  Foisset  believed  it  was  due  to  Ozanam  to  show  it  to  him  before 
it  appeared  in  print  in  the  Correspondant.  Ozanam's  answer  was  at 
once  decided  and  courageous,  as  well  as  being  prudent  and  modest : 
"  My  dear  friend,  I  wish  to  thank  you  at  once  for  your  kind  enclosure. 
But  I  cannot  conceal  the  fact  that  your  communication  makes  the 
matter  awkward  for  me.  I  should  have  preferred  not  to  have  known 
beforehand  that  my  name  was  to  appear  in  M.  Montalembert's  article. 
There  is  certainly  both  honour  and  danger  in  being  named  as  an  ex 
ception  to  an  offensive  rule.  But  it  is  an  honour,  and  it  would  be  an 
act  of  cowardice  on  my  part  to  have  the  reference  deleted.  I  cannot 
therefore  either  accept  or  reject  officially,  and  I  should  prefer  not  to 
know  of  it."  He  gave  his  permission  and  the  name  appeared.  A  further 
letter  conveyed  his  thanks  :  "I  am  grateful  to  you  for  having  kept 
my  name  in  the  article."  That  was  the  act  of  a  courageous  man. 

But  while  offering  himself  up,  Ozanam  appealed  against  the  charge 
of  irreligion  made  in  the  article  against  the  majority  of  the  professors 
in  the  University  :  "If  you  have  carte  blanche  in  the  matter  of  small 
corrections,  will  you  please  make  one  in  the  following  connection, 
not  in  my  interest  but  in  that  of  truth." 

"  It  is  not  true  that  Catholics  in  the  University  are  an  insignificant 
number ;  they  are — the  Archbishop  of  Lyons  has  just  called  them 
numerous — in  all  public  functions  a  considerable  minority.  Neither 
is  it  true  that  M.  Lenormant  and  M.  Ozanam  protest  against  the  in 
struction  of  their  colleagues  in  the  Sorbonne,  who  must  not  be  con 
founded  with  those  in  the  College  of  France."  Ozanam  reduces  the 
number  of  aggressive  professors  of  heterodox  doctrines  to  two.  He 
mentions  on  the  other  side  M.  Saint-Marc-Girardin,  "  who  upholds 
true,  moral,  and  Christian  ideals." 

"  Then  again,"  he  adds,  "  we  have  not  made  any  protest  because 
there  was  not  any  occasion  for  us  to  do  so.  We  have  openly  professed 
our  own  faith,  refuted  opposing  doctrines,  sought  to  do  our  duty  as 
Christian  professors  and  to  serve  God  by  advancing  true  Science. 
But  we  have  not  sought  to  introduce  into  the  Faculty  of  Paris  a  divi 
sion  which  does  not  exist,  to  create  two  camps,  to  engage  in  battles. 
I  think,  moreover,  that  it  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  the  young 


OZANAM  AND  THE  SORBONNE  219 

men,  that  that  should  not  be  done.  Our  lectures  must  not  be  regarded 
by  our  colleagues  as  provocative  steps  calling  for  a  retort.  If  there 
are  many  strangers  to  our  faith,  they  are  not  to  be  made  enemies." 

Pere  Lacordaire  has  summed  up  beautifully  in  his  funeral  notice, 
Ozanam's  delicate  position  in  the  Sorbonne,  and  the  nobility  and  pru 
dence  of  his  behaviour  in  the  circumstances.  "  In  the  conflict  between 
the  Church  and  the  University,  Ozanam,"  he  wrote,  "  was  the  most 
awkwardly  placed  of  us  all.  An  ardent  Catholic,  a  devoted  friend  of 
social  liberty,  and  particularly  of  liberty  of  conscience,  he  could  not, 
however,  fail  to  recognise  that  he  belonged  to  the  body  which  was  the 
legal  depository  of  the  monopoly  of  teaching.  Was  he  to  break  with 
the  body  which  had  welcomed  him  so  warmly,  and  had  overwhelmed 
him  with  distinctions  ?  Was  he,  on  the  other  hand,  while  remaining 
in  its  midst,  to  take  an  active  and  necessarily  prominent  part  in  the  war 
which  would  be  waged  against  it  ?  In  the  first  case,  Ozanam  would  resign 
his  Chair.  Could  he  be  recommended  to  that  course  ?  In  the  second, 
he  was  inviting  dismissal.  Could  he  be  so  advised  ?  On  the  other 
hand,  could  Ozanam,  the  Christian  Professor,  be  separated  from  us  ?  " 

"  Ozanam  kept  his  Chair  ;  that  was  his  post  in  Truth's  critical  hour. 
He  did  not  expressly  attack  the  body  to  which  he  belonged  ;  that  was 
the  duty  of  a  colleague  as  well  as  of  one  who  did  not  forget  kindness. 
But  he  remained  in  complete  unity  and  touch  with  those  who  were 
defending  with  might  and  main  the  cause  of  liberty  of  teaching." 

"  Not  one  of  the  bonds  which  united  him  to  the  main  army  was 
loosened.  He  was  a  part  of  every  meeting,  of  every  Association,  of 
every  inspiration  of  the  time.  Therefore  the  high  place,  which  he 
had  always  occupied  in  our  thoughts  and  in  our  ranks,  did  not  abate 
one  jot  nor  suffer  one  moment  of  distrust.  He  completely  retained 
the  affection  of  Catholics  and  the  regard  and  respect  of  the  body  to 
which  he  belonged.  Outside  both  camps  he  won  the  sympathy  of 
that  formless  and  Protean  mass  called  the  public,  which  sooner  or 
later,  determines  everything." 

When  Montalembert  had  pleaded  with  brilliancy  in  the  Chamber 
of  Peers,  the  cause  of  Catholic  instruction,  Ozanam  was  not  slow  to 
express  his  admiration  :  I  desire  to  express  my  great  pleasure  and  my 
pride  as  a  fellow  Christian.  I  recognise  the  accents  of  St.  Gregory 
VII.,  of  St.  Anselm,  of  St.  Bernard  in  that  defence  of  the  liberties  of 
the  Church,  at  once  the  oldest  and  the  youngest  and  the  most  imperish 
able  of  all  liberties." 


220  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

But  Ozanam  demands  that,  even  above  the  accents  of  that  great 
layman,  we  should  first  of  all  hear  the  voice  of  the  Church  in  the  person 
of  its  pastors  :  "  It  is  indeed  a  pleasure  to  see  the  controversy  drawn 
out  of  the  mire  of  miserable  insults  and  personalities,  and  raised  to 
its  true  elevation  by  M.  de  Montalembert  at  first,  and  then  by  the  Abbe 
de  Came,  the  Abbe  de  Vatimesnil,  Pere  de  Ravignan,  their  Lordships 
the  Bishops,  and  especially  by  the  Pastorals  of  the  Archbishops  of 
Lyons  and  Paris.  They  are  the  legitimate  representatives  of  our 
rights,  whom  we  can  never  have  occasion  to  repudiate." 

The  Correspondent}  could  stand  unfalteringly  by  their  side  in  the  full 
light  of  truth  and  in  the  full  certainty  of  rights.  That  is  the  duty  of  ortho 
doxy  which  should  never  weaken  :  "  I  regard  as  equally  dangerous  that 
spirit  of  compromise  which  is  willing  to  yield  something  of  the  rigidity  of 
dogma  in  discussion,  or  of  the  rights  of  the  Church  in  business  affairs." 

A  matter  of  a  private  nature  was  taking  place  at  that  time  which 
made  a  great  difference  to  his,  and  which  crowned  his  wife's  happiness. 
He  wrote  to  M.  Foisset  as  follows,  Low  Sunday,  1844  :  "  In  the  midst 
of  my  work  in  Stanislaus  College  and  the  Faculty  of  Literature,  I  had 
to  attend  to  a  business  matter,  which  will  result  in  calling  my  father- 
in-law  to  the  position  of  head  of  a  branch  of  the  Ministry  of  Education. 
It  will  bring  my  wife's  family  near  to  us.  It  has  been  dragging  on 
its  weary  course  during  three  months,  and  although  the  affair  is  settled, 
the  appointment  has  not  yet  been  signed."  What  held  it  in  suspense  ? 
It  was  the  moment  when  the  retrograde  legislation  of  Minister  Ville- 
main,  regulating  public  instruction,  was  violently  attacked  by  the 
Catholic  party.  '  You  can  well  imagine,"  adds  Ozanam,  "if  it  be 
advisable,  in  the  present  trend  of  affairs,  to  pay  court  and  expose 
oneself  to  discussions  on  points  of  difficulty,  in  which  conscience  cannot 
yield."  He  would  not  pay  court,  nor  expose  himself  to  those  dis 
cussions.  His  conscience  would  not  yield.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten 
that  the  young  Christian  who  was  thus  speaking,  and  who  was  facing 
with  such  independence  public  opinion  and  the  views  of  those  in  high 
place,  was  only  a  temporary  professor,  that  is  to  say,  at  the  mercy  of 
the  administration  of  the  University  and  removable  at  will.  The  signa 
ture  to  the  appointment  was  otherwise  obtained.  In  the  month  of 
April  in  the  following  year,  1845,  M.  Soulacroix  entered  on  the  duties 
of  his  high  post  and  of  his  new  home  in  Paris.  His  branch  dealt  with 
accounts.  It  left  him  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  the  administration 
of  education  or  with  the  selection  of  educational  staffs. 


DEATH  OF  FAURIEL  221 

In  the  meantime  an  event  took  place  which  once  more  raised  the 
question  of  Ozanam's  future.  In  the  month  of  July  of  1844,  M.  Fauriel, 
permanent  Professor  of  the  Chair  of  Literature,  for  whom  Ozanam 
was  acting  with  brilliant  success,  died  suddenly  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two  years.  Ozanam  mourned  for  him  :  "  I  had  in  him,"  he  writes 
to  M.  Foisset,  "  a  genial  patron  who  solved  many  difficulties  for  me, 
one  whose  kindness  ensured  for  me  the  occupation  of  his  Chair  in  his 
stead,  so  long  as  his  infirmity  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  appear. 
His  friendship  was  my  security.  His  death  came  as  a  thunderbolt 
to  me.  It  happened  prematurely  perhaps  for  his  soul,  prematurely  for 
science  which  will  find  itself  deprived  of  valuable  works  which  he 
had  almost  completed  and  which  will  now  be  lost,*  prematurely 
for  me,  who  still  needed  his  advice  and  protection." 

I  regard  Ozanam's  appreciation  of  M.  Fauriel  as  a  masterpiece  of 
eloquence  and  erudition,  of  respect  and  admiration,  of  delicacy  and 
gratitude.  But  the  Christian  could  not  close  those  lines  without 
congratulating  the  savant  on  having  known  how  to  bend  his  gifted 
mind  before  the  mystery  of  the  causes  of  things,  of  the  First  Cause  : 
"  That  great  intellect,  which  knew  so  much,  knew  also  when  it  knew 
nothing.  It  was  a  maxim  of  his  that  we  do  not  know  the  beginning 
of  anything.  He  knew  how  to  bow  down  before  the  regions  of  mystery, 
which  he  found  at  the  beginning  and  tne  end  of  all  his  research.  Thence 
came  the  reserve  and  the  modesty,  which  characterised  his  pronounce 
ments,  in  which  one  often  found  illumination  and  always  kindness." 
The  writer  consulted  him  on  one  occasion  on  a  point  in  history,  which 
he  sought  to  explain  by  the  ordinary  laws  of  human  affairs  :  "  I  shall 
perhaps  astonish  you,"  replied  M.  Fauriel,  "  but  you  do  not,  in  my 
opinion,  assign  its  proper  importance  to  Providence." 

"  What  will  happen  to  me  now  ?"  asks  the  young  acting  professor. 
Ozanam  was  of  opinion  that,  after  four  years  unexpected  success 
for  which  he  had  sacrificed  everything,  even  his  health,  during  which 
he  had  had  nothing  but  the  pleasantest  relations  with  everyone,  he 
would  certainly  not  be  passed  over  in  order  that  the  Chair  should  be 
given  to  another.  He  knew  further  that  "  the  Faculty  were  also  of 
that  opinion,  that  the  majority  of  its  members  would  place  his  name 

*The  valuable  works  noted  by  Ozanam  were  published  after  the  author's  death : 
History  of  the  Epic  of  Chivalry  in  the  Middle  Ages.  History  of  Provencal  Poetry, 
3  vols.,  1846.  Dante  and  the  beginnings  of  Italian  Poetry  and  Literature,  2  vols. 
in  octavo,  1846. 


222  FREDERICK    OZANAM 

first  in  the  list  to  be  submitted  to  the  Minister,  merely  postponing 
the  nomination  for  the  Chair  until  the  new  Session  should  open." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  candidate  was  only  thirty  ;  having  regard 
to  his  youth,  to  the  fact  that  he  did  not  hold  scientific  Degrees, 
and  that  he  had  been  such  a  short  time  in  the  University,  another 
view  favoured  holding  over  the  vacancy  until  the  following  year, 
to  enable  him  to  win  his  spurs.  The  course  of  lectures  would  remain 
the  same,  but  the  title  for  the  time  being  would  be  that  of  Acting 
Professor. 

But  the  temporary,  the  removable  feature  of  that  position  was  a 
sword  of  Damocles.  Ozanam's  charming  personality  did  not  tend  to 
injure  him,  but  it  was  otherwise  with  his  philosophy,  the  success  of 
which  in  the  Sorbonne  offended  and  irritated  the  followers  of  Vol 
taire  on  the  Siecle  and  the  Constitutionnel,  as  well  as  the  fanatics  of 
the  College  of  France  and  the  University.  They  found  all  too  ready 
support  from  M.  Villemain,  Minister  of  Education,  whom  Catholic 
opposition  had  driven  to  very  distraction  ;  a  fact  which  was  shortly 
to  become  apparent. 

In  this  anxiety  of  mind,  what  were  Ozanam's  thoughts,  what  did 
prudence  recommend,  what  did  religion  claim  ?  That  we  learn  from 
the  following  letter :  "  I  shall  sacrifice  nothing,  neither  my  duty  to 
the  State  through  imprudence,  nor  my  duty  as  a  Christian  through 
cowardice."  The  Christian  adds  :  "  What  I  ask  of  God  is  that  He 
would  take  in  His  hands  the  management  of  this  delicate  business. 
It  may,  indeed,  be  for  the  good  of  my  salvation  that  I  should  not 
succeed.  If  that  be  so  I  ask  only  for  strength,  resignation  and  peace 
of  mind  ;  resignation  to  suffer  everything,  even  what  is  uncertain  and 
precarious,  since  God  has  made  all  things  so,  life,  death,  health, 
fortune.  He  has  willed  that  we  should  live  in  the  most  terrible  of 
all  doubts,  whether  we  are  worthy  of  His  love." 

Divided  between  affection  for  the  young  professor,  and  regard  for 
his  own  political  interests,  M.  Cousin  devised  the  following  expedient 
with  quite  bona-fide  intentions :  "  The  Chair  of  Foreign  Literature 
was  to  be  offered  to  M.  Ampere,  who  would  be  substitute  Professor, 
M.  Ozanam,  his  close  friend,  ^ould  continue  to  be  Acting  Professor ; 
an  arrangement  which  would  permit  M.  Ampere  to  gratify  his  desire 
for  foreign  travel.  However  pleasant  and  flattering  it  might  be  for 
the  one,  it  was  certainly  not  so  for  the  other,  for  the  position  would 
remain  precarious.  Jean  Jacques  Ampere  had  no  hesitation  as  to 


PROFESSOR  AT  THE  SORBONNE  223 

what  to  do  ;  he  refused  point  blank.  He  did  more.  He  availed 
himself  of  the  opportunity  to  urge  the  appointment  of  his  friend  with 
all  the  weight  of  his  influence  as  a  scientist,  and  with  all  the  warmth 
of  his  friendship. 

The  Academic  Council  unanimously  presented  the  name  of  the 
candidate  just  as  the  Faculty  had  done.  The  Royal  Council  followed 
suit.  But  M.  Villemain  seemed  afraid  to  pronounce  the  final  word. 
Pursuant  to  his  orders,  the  notice  of  the  course  appeared,  with  a  blank 
for  the  name  of  the  Professor,  thus  gaming  time  for  reflection.  M.  le 
Clerc  had  to  use  more  than  ordinary  skill  and  determination  literally 
to  snatch  the  signature  from  the  Minister.  "The  matter  is  settled  at 
last:"  wrote  Ozanam  on  the  23rd  November,  1844.  "  It  was  closed 
yesterday  when  I  made  the  statutory  declaration  before  the  Dean. 
It  became  official  to-day  and  will  become  known  to  my  friends  through 
all  the  usual  avenues  of  publicity." 

His  news  was  told  in  thanksgiving.  He  wrote  to  Ampere,  and  in 
what  exquisite  terms  !  "I  knew  well  from  experience  that  one  needed 
friends  in  adversity,  but  I  did  not  know  that  one  stood  in  such  need 
of  them  in  prosperity.  .  .  .  It  is  meet  that  you  should  derive 
pleasure  from  what  you  have  done,  you  who,  next  to  God,  are  the 
author  of  all  my  prosperity,  you  who  received  me  into  the  house  of 
your  saintly  and  distinguished  father,  who  placed  my  feet  first  on  the 
road,  who  guided  me  from  trial  to  trial,  step  by  step,  to  this  professor 
ial  Chair,  in  which  I  am  now  sitting,  because  the  only  one  worthy  of 
the  position  was  not  willing  to  occupy  it." 

Ampere  set  out  for  Egypt.  Ozanam  expressed  the  wish  that  "  the 
recollection  of  his  goodness  would  accompany  him  as  a  sweet  blessing 
with  which  God  visits  beautiful  characters." 

From  this  moment  a  new  link  was  added  to  the  chain  of  friendship 
connecting  Ozanam  and  Ampere.  They  were  engaged  on  the  same 
studies.  While  Ozanam  was  occupied  on  the  Histoire  de  la  Civilisa 
tion  chrelienne  aux  temps  barbares,  Ampere  had  just  published  in  1840 
the  Histoire  litteraire  de  la  France  jusqu'  au  XII*  siecle.  Was  there 
any  danger  of  clashing,  in  coming  to  such  close  quarters  ?  They  were 
not  walking  in  the  same  paths.  Ampere  said  with  a  smile :  "  I  have 
taken  from  you  the  men  of  Letters  and  the  men  of  State :  but  make 
your  mind  easy,  I  have  left  you  the  missionaries  and  the  saints."  It 
is  none  the  less  true  that  in  the  study  of  the  same  period  they  employed 
similar  literary  terms ;  so  that  a  contemporary  remarked :  "  When  I  am 


224  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

reading  them  I  am  never  sure  that  the  phrase  which  was  commenced 
by  one  has  not  been  finished  by  the  other." 

Friendship  was  acknowledged,  Heaven  was  praised  :  "  It  is  God," 
Ozanam  wrote  to  Lallier,  "  Whose  merciful  love  has  made  my  duties 
easier,  because  He  knows  that  I  am  weak  ;  doubtless  also  to  prepare 
me  by  a  period  of  happiness  for  the  trials  of  the  future."  This  humil 
ity  had  its  counterpart  in  his  Christian  independence.  It  asserted 
that  the  support  of  the  Faculty,  of  the  Academic  Council  and  of  the 
Royal  Council  was  not  gained,  either  by  the  sacrifice  of  ideals,  or  by 
the  compromise  of  his  principles.  '  You  will  learn  with  pleasure 
that  neither  advances,  concessions  nor  reservations  were  required 
of  me.  I  was  taken  for  what  I  am,  without  insisting,  as  they  might 
have  tried  to  do,  that  I  should  be  more  prudent  in  my  instruction, 
or  at  least  that  I  should  send  in  a  written  application,  which  is  quite 
usual.  They  did  not  wish  even  to  appear  to  have  imposed  conditions 
on  me."  That  was  indeed  to  know  him  for  what  he  was.  It  was 
also  honourable  to  him. 

When  Stanislaus  College  heard  of  his  promotion,  the  first  feelings 
were  expressed  by  the  Abbe  Caro :  "  It  seemed  to  each  of  us  that  his 
appointment  was  our  appointment,  that  we  mounted  with  him  into  the 
professorial  Chair,  that  his  triumph  was  our  triumph.  But  when  we 
learned  that,  according  to  University  regulations,  Ozanam  as  whole- 
time  professor  would  be  obliged  to  give  up  his  teaching  in  the  College, 
desolation  reigned  supreme.  The  students  drew  up  a  petition  to  M. 
Villemain  praying  him  to  make  an  exception  in  their  favour,  and  to 
let  them  continue  to  have  their  well-beloved  master.  One  student 
was  entrusted  with  the  duty  of  advising  M.  Ozanam  of  this  unusual 
proceeding,  and  of  re-stating  their  deep  and  sincere  regret. 

The  letter  was  as  follows  :  "Sir,  we  cannot  adequately  express  to 
you  the  surprise  and  grief  with  which  we  learned  for  the  first  time  yes 
terday  of  the  misfortune  which  has  befallen  us.  Those  who  have  been 
with  you  for  a  few  months  only,  those  who  passed  a  year  at  your 
lectures  and  who  looked  forward  to  passing  a  second,  those  whom 
other  courses  have  claimed  after  Rhetoric,  have  all  been  equally 
affected.  I  have  been  charged  with  the  sad  duty  of  communicating 
to  you  that  general  sense  of  grief." 

"  However,  all  hope  has  not  been  abandoned,  and  we  pray  you  to 
support  our  petition  and  to  help  to  preserve  to  us,  if  it  be  possible  to 
do  so,  our  most  beloved  master.  If  the  claims  of  secondary  instruction 


PfiRE  DE  RAVIGNAN  225 

are  more  burdensome  than  others,  be  assured  that  nowhere  will  those 
duties  be  repaid  with  a  livelier  or  more  lasting  appreciation. 

In  any  case,  whatever  may  be  the  Minister's  decision,  we  shall  never 
forget  the  many  acts  of  kindness  which  you  have  showered  on  us. 
Deign  to  accept  our  sincere  gratitude,  and  pardon  this  indiscretion 
for  the  sake  of  the  love  and  affection  which  is  hereby  conveyed 
to  you  by  all  the  students  of  Stanislaus  College." 

They  did  not  succeed  in  keeping  their  master.  M.  Villemain  had 
other  matters  to  concern  him.  France  heard  a  few  days  later,  on 
the  30th  December,  that  her  Minister  of  Education  had  gone  mad. 
Jesuits  attacked  and  pursued  him.  They  were  everywhere  present 
to  his  gaze,  even  on  the  pavements  of  the  streets.  "  The 
Jesuits  !  The  Jesuits  !" 

War  on  the  Jesuits  was  then  the  policy  of  the  day  in  the  State  Coun 
cil  and  in  Parliament,  as  well  as  in  the  College  of  France  :  of  Villemain, 
Cousin,  Thiers,  Dupin,  Isambert,  as  well  as  of  Quinet  and  Michelet. 

Those  were  the  days  that  Ozanam  selected  to  bring  Pere  de  Ravignan 
to  a  Quarterly  General  Meeting  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul, 
which  was  attended  by  many  students  :  "  I  was  present  at  that  memor 
able  meeting,"  wrote  Leonce  Curnier.  "  I  still  have  present  to  my 
eyes  the  dignified  appearance  of  Pere  de  Ravignan,  the  inspired  air, 
the  seraph's  glance,  when  he  cried  aloud,  pointing  up  to  Heaven,  at 
the  close  of  an  address,  which  inflamed  us  with  a  burning  desire  to 
work  for  the  poor  :  "  We  shall  rest  up  there."  It  was  not  the  voice 
of  a  man  which  we  heard,  it  was  the  voice  of  an  angel.  I  have  never 
experienced  to  such  a  degree  the  power  of  genius  enhanced  by  holiness." 

Ozanam  wrote  at  the  close  of  the  Paschal  Retreat  which  had  been 
given  by  the  holy  religious  :  "After  all  that  has  been  done  to  seduce 
young  men,  the  way  in  which  they  receive  and  welcome  Catholic 
addresses  is  truly  marvellous." 

There  was  trouble  with  the  students  in  Ozanam 's  near  vicinity. 
That  was  the  time  when  the  Sorbonne  was  the  scene  of  disturbances 
which  must  be  mentioned.  We  shall  see  Ozanam's  calm  and  intrepid 
figure  standing  forth  in  the  defence  of  truth  and  the  protection  of 
liberty. 

His  own  Chair  was  safeguarded  by  his  popularity.  It  was  not 
indeed  that  he  had  not  noticed  a  timid  and  shamefaced  spirit  of 
contradiction  arising  in  his  lecture  hall.  For  instance,  it  could  have 

been   noticed   that    on   one    occasion    the    announcement    "  Course 

p 


226  FREDERICK   OZANAM 

of  Foreign  Literature  "  had  been  altered  to  "Course  of  Theology." 
Ozanam  was  told  of  it  as  he  entered.  He  merely  smiled.  He  finished 
his  lecture  without  reference  to  the  impertinence.  As  he  was  about 
to  leave  the  Chair  he  said  with  disdain  but  with  dignity  :  "Gentlemen, 
I  have  not  the  honour  to  be  a  theologian,  but  I  have  the  happiness  to 
be  a  Christian  ;  the  happiness  to  believe  and  the  ambition  to  devote 
my  mind,  my  heart,  and  all  my  strength  to  the  service  of  truth."  The 
clear  and  simple  expression  of  faith  was  received  with  general  applause. 

It  is  also  reported  that  on  another  occasion  strange  faces  were 
noticed  in  the  lecture-hall,  exchanging  grimaces  when  a  suitable  moment 
for  an  outburst  seemed  likely  to  arrive.  The  suitable  moment  did 
not  arrive.  "  We  were  present,"  says  Dufieux.  "  The  hall  was  packed, 
the  crowd  overflowed  into  the  corridors :  something  was  in  the  air. 
Ozanam  opened  his  lecture,  calm  and  alert :  The  Church,  its  Institu 
tion,  Associations,  Popes,  Clergy,  Saints.  I  overheard  a  remark  to 
the  effect  that  eloquence  could  not  soar  higher.  The  master  had 
never  gripped  his  audience  better.  He  brought  down  the  house :  the 
conspirators  applauded  as  loudly  as  the  rest.  He  had  disarmed  them." 

We  have  noticed  Montalembert  connect,  in  his  manifesto  to  Catholics, 
the  name  of  M.  Charles  Lenormant  with  that  of  Ozanam,  as  one  of  the 
few  Christian  Professors  in  the  Sorbonne.  He  was  doing  duty  for 
M.  Guizot  in  the  Chair  of  History.  He  had  been  conducting  the  course 
for  three  years  with  marked  success,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  a 
mixed  spirit  of  scepticism  and  respect  for  holy  things.  But  the  day 
had  arrived  when  the  Truth  of  the  Gospel  was  revealed  to  his  elevated 
mind,  and  a  public  profession  of  faith  became  necessary  from  him  as 
a  man  of  honour.  The  audience  in  the  Sorbonne  therefore  listened 
to  the  reading  of  the  following  courageous  letter :  "  I  had  reached  in 
my  historical  course  the  period  of  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  reli 
gion.  Up  to  then  I  had  only  cast  the  idle  and  careless  glance  of  a 
man  of  the  world  on  the  facts  of  Christianity.  Henceforward  I  had 
to  trace  the  origin  and  weigh  the  proofs  with  the  care  and  the  sense  of 
responsibility  imposed  on  me  by  my  duty  to  the  public.  The  results 
of  that  investigation  developed  slowly  but  surely.  As  I  advanced 
in  my  task  I  felt  the  irreligious  prejudices,  which  I  owed  to  my  educa 
tion  and  to  my  times,  growing  feebler  and  feebler  and  ultimately 
disappearing.  From  coldness,  I  passed  quickly  to  respect  and  regard  ; 
thence  directly  to  Faith.  I  became  a  Christian  and  I  desired  to  co 
operate  in  the  making  of  Christians." 


SCENES   IN   THE   SORBONNE  227 

It  was  exactly  against  that  conversion  that  the  storm  burst.  The 
very  men  who  had  beaten  themselves  in  vain  against  the  popularity 
of  Ozanam,  sought  their  revenge  against  this  latter-day  Christian 
whom  they  nicknamed  the  "Sorbonne  convert."  Those  demagogues 
of  the  College  of  France,  M.  Michelet  and  M.  Quinet,  incited 
their  infuriated  groups  secretly  against  the  Chair  which  was 
now  grounded  on  honour  and  truth.  The  lectures  of  M.  Lenormant, 
which  had  been  much  appreciated,  now  became  scenes  of  impious 
disorder  and  savage  violence. 

We  are  now  at  the  close  of  1845.  Ozanam  announced  to  Lallier 
that  he  had  resumed  his  lectures,  informing  him  at  the  same  time 
of  the  uneasiness  which  the  rowdy  opposition  to  his  colleague  caused 
him  :  "  I  have  observed  the  disorders  closely  and  I  can  assure  you 
that  it  is  not  an  uprising  of  the  schools.  It  has  been  carefully 
arranged  in  the  offices  of  the  revolutionary  Press.  As  that  bigoted 
•crowd  will  persist  in  its  hostility,  and  as  the  Government  is  showing 
all  its  usual  weakness  when  it  is  a  question  of  defending  belief,  it  is 
to  be  feared  that  the  disturbances  will  be  renewed.  Even  if  there 
be  only  a  few  score  rowdies,  if  they  return  ten  times  they  will 
succeed  in  closing  the  course  of  lectures.  But  it  will  not  be  without 
a  struggle  ;  for  the  Catholic  young  men  have  shown  themselves  firmer 
than  usual  in  this  matter.  It  will  at  least  serve  to  close  up  our  ranks 
and  strengthen  our  hearts." 

To  see  "  such  honourable  and  beneficent  teaching  threatened 
by  intrigue,  and  betrayed  by  the  cowardice  of  the  administration  " 
aroused  Ozanam's  anger :  "Ah  !  my  dear  friend,  how  much  evil  is 
done  in  this  world  by  the  carelessness  and  the  timidity  of  good  people  ! 
As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  shall  do  all  I  can  to  keep  my  position 
identified  with  that  of  M.  Lenormant.  As  long  as  his  lectures  con 
tinue  to  be  disturbed  I  shall  continue  to  be  present.  I  shall  use  all 
my  influence  to  recruit  young  men  for  the  lectures.  On  Thursday 
the  8th  January  the  lectures  are  to  be  resumed." 

On  Thursday  the  8th  January,  Ozanam  was  present.  A  volley  of 
cat-calls  heralded  M.  Lenormant's  arrival.  He  attempted  to  speak 
and  was  answered  with  a  storm  of  hissing.  Ozanam  could  not  restrain 
himself.  He  jumped  up,  stood  up  on  his  seat  and  contemplated  in 
silence  for  a  time  the  wild  outburst,  with  a  mingled  glance  of  pity 
and  disdain.  His  bold  stand  was  received  with  applause  from  some 
of  the  benches.  Repressing  the  applause,  Ozanam  recalled  the  minds 


228  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

of  the  demonstrators  to  "  that  liberty  on  which  they  set  such  store, 
and  besought  them  to  respect  it  in  the  consciences  of  others."  Silence 
was  restored.  The  effect  of  this  short  speech  was  that  the  professor 
was  enabled  to  continue,  or  rather  to  commence,  his  lecture,  which 
was  completed  almost  without  interruption. 

That  armistice  could  have  been  the  beginning  of  peace.  But  the 
University  administration  yielded  to  violence.  It  was  learned  on 
the  following  day  that  the  Course  of  lectures  had  been  closed  by  order 
of  the  Government. 

M.  Lenormant  handed  in  his  resignation  to  take  charge  of  the  Cor- 
respondant,  where  we  shall  find  him  again. 


229 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
FAMILY  LIFE.- WORK.— CHARITABLE  ACTIVITY, 

AS  A  FATHER. — HARD  WORK  AND  HAPPINESS. — ANCIENT  GERMANY. — M. 
GOSSIN. — WORKMEN'S  CLUB. 

1844-46. 

From  the  beginning  of  1844  Ozanam  had  the  pleasure  of  the 
company  in  Paris  of  his  two  brothers,  one  a  priest  and  the  other 
a  student,  who  shared  his  home  with  him  in  the  Rue  de  Fleurus.  On 
the  I4th  January  he  informed  Lallier  that  he  had  brought  up  to  Paris 
his  old  nurse  Guigui.  "After  sixty  years'  service  she  could  not  make 
up  her  mind  to  leave  the  children  of  her  masters.  You  see  therefore 
I  have,  as  it  were,  assembled  the  walls  of  the  old  home  to  reconstruct  it 
in  Paris ;  all  the  family  portraits,  and  some  antique  pieces  of  furniture 
belonging  to  my  grandmother.  So  many  relics  to  which  memories 
cling  !  We  have  thus  peopled  our  rather  lonely  existence,  and  we 
feel  more  firmly  established  in  our  home,  which  is  not  without  gaiety." 
A  piano  from  the  firm  of  Pleyel  contributed  to  the  charm  of  this  home 
of  artists.  Ozanam  was  not  a  musician,  but  he  had  an  apprecia 
tion  of  the  beautiful  in  everything.  Madame  Ozanam  threw  her  soul 
into  her  playing  in  order  to  reach  his. 

Ozanam  mentions  the  names  of  some  friends  who  called  regularly : 
the  contributors  to  the  Correspondant ;  Wilson  the  director,  Dr.  Gou- 
raud,  Count  Came,  M.  de  Champagny.  He  invited  Foisset.  Young 
authors  like  Maxime  de  Montrond,  Baron  Montreuil,  Jourdain 
(Charles  de  Sainte-Foi),  Amedee  Gabourg,  the  illustrious  Cauchy. 
Ernest  Lelievre,  the  student,  also  called  occasionally. 

Is  there  any  need  to  state  that  Ozanam  went  little  into 
society  ?  While  he  was  studying  in  Paris,  Ampere,  junior,  had  intro 
duced  him  to  the  celebrated  salon  of  Madame  Recamier.  He  visited 
there  very  rarely  and  finally  ceased  altogether.  When  reproached 
gently  for  his  absence,  he  replied  modestly  and  quietly :  "I  am  too 


230  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

young,  Madame,  for  such  grave  and  learned  society.  When  I  shall 
have  carved  out  a  career  for  myself,  six  or  seven  years  hence,  I  shall 
come  and  pay  you  my  respects  regularly,  if  you  will  allow  me."  When 
he  returned  to  Paris  as  a  Professor,  one  of  his  first  calls  was  to  the 
renowned  lady  of  the  Abbaye-aux-Bois.  "Ah  !"  she  exclaimed  as 
he  entered,  "  how  strictly  you  have  kept  your  word  !  It  is  exactly 
seven  years  since  your  last  visit."  Ozanam  had  really  forgotten, 
but  he  had  kept  his  word. 

Ozanam  was  anxious  to  share  his  happy  family  life  with  all  belonging 
to  him.  So  he  wrote  :  "  Longings  continue  to  agitate  us.  We  per 
ceive  that,  no  matter  with  what  care  we  arrange  for  happiness  here 
below,  God  sees  to  it  that  we  still  feel  a  want."  His  desires 
for  a  happy  family  reunion  were  fulfilled  in  April,  1845,  by  the  arrival 
of  M.  Soulacroix,  to  take  up  a  position  which  would  establish  him  and 
his  family  permanently  in  Paris.  Yet  even  then  a  dark  cloud  hung 
over  that  perfect  felicity  ;  it  was  the  sad  state  of  health  of  their  son 
Theophilus.  Ozanam,  as  a  true  brother,  charged  himself  with  the 
task  of  dispelling  the  ennui  and  filling  up  the  wearying  days  of  his 
enforced  inactivity.  He  initiated  him  into,  he  even  associated  him 
with,  his  Germanic  studies.  "  He  knows  German  perfectly,"  he  wrote 
to  M.  Leon  Bore,  then  in  Munich.  "God,  Who  deprived  him  of 
many  things,  endowed  him  with  a  beautiful  mind.  It  is  particularly 
desirable  that  he  should  not  feel  useless  in  the  world,  and  he  would 
be  very  glad  to  make  known  in  France  some  good  foreign  books,  for 
example,  Guido  Goerres'  Jeanne  d'Arc.  Would  you  be  so  kind  as  to 
make  out  for  me  a  list  of  good  healthy  German  works  for  translation, 
from  which  he  could  make  a  selection." 

The  youth  was  pious,  the  whole  family  environment  was  quite 
Catholic.  Ozanam  admitted  finding  in  its  midst  examples  of  faith 
and  hope  in  God  which  he  blamed  himself  for  imitating  so  badly. 
It  was  while  with  them  at  Oullins  that  he  had  written  previously  : 
"  Why  do  I  feel  myself  more  and  more  troubled  and  weak,  I  who  have 
been  enriched  by  God  with  so  many  favours  ?  Why  is  my  mind  so 
unsettled  that  I  cannot  find  the  refuge  and  repose  which  others  find 
in  the  Crucifix  ?  I  have  around  me  so  much  cause  for  encouragement, 
such  excellent  example  !  I  have  indeed  had  a  happy  experience  of 
that  Providence  which  is  watching  over  us.  Only  for  this  sweet  calm 
within  I  should  be  lost  in  the  storms  from  without." 

To  the  interior  calm  and  the  peace  of  family  life  was  added    the 


AS  A  FATHER  231 

joy  of  joys.  On  the  7th  August,  1845,  Ozanam  was  able  to 
write  to  M.  Foisset :  "  After  a  succession  of  favours  which  deter 
mined  my  vocation  and  re-united  my  family,  yet  another  is  added 
which  is  probably  the  greatest  that  we  can  have  on  earth  :  I  am  a 
father." 

Before  the  little  cradle  the  supernatural  grandeur  of  paternity 
appeared  to  him  with  all  its  happiness  and  all  its  responsibilities :  - 
"Ah  !"  he  exclaimed,  "what  a  moment  that  was  when  I  first  heard 
the  cry  of  my  child,  when  I  saw  for  the  first  time  the  tiny  but  im 
mortal  creature,  whom  God  has  placed  in  my  hands.  What  happi 
ness  and  what  responsibility  has  she  not  brought  !  .  .  .  I  cannot 
behold  that  sweet  little  face,  all  innocence  and  purity,  without  seeing 
the  image  of  the  Creator  more  clearly  mirrored  in  her,  than  in  us.  - 
I  cannot  think  of  the  imperishable  soul  for  which  I  shall  have  to  render 
an  account,  without  feeling  my  own  responsibilities  more  keenly. 
How  shall  I  preach  if  I  do  not  practise  ?  Could  God  have  selected  a 
sweeter  means  of  teaching,  correcting,  and  placing  me  on  the  road  to 
Heaven  ? 

"  The  mother,  who  is  better  in  health,  has  the  pleasure  of  nursing 
her  baby.  It  is  a  troublesome  but  a  very  real  pleasure.  We  shall 
thus  enjoy  the  first  smiles  of  our  little  angel."  The  Christian  adds  : 
"  I  awaited  the  day  of  Baptism  with  great  impatience.  We  have 
given  her  the  name  of  Marie,  which  was  my  mother's,  after  the  glorious 
Virgin,  whom  we  thank  for  the  happy  birth.  We  shall  begin  her  edu 
cation  at  the  same  time  as  she  shall  begin  ours,  for  I  am  already  feeling 
that  God  has  sent  us  our  baby  to  teach  us  many  things  and  to  make 
us  better." 

Owing  to  his  close  friendship  Lallier  was  to  be  the  godfather.  On 
the  announcement  of  the  birth  he  had  hastened  to  Paris.  The  family 
picture  which  was  presented  to  him  is  that  which  Ozanam  depicted 
on  the  27th  August :  "  I  do  not  know  anything  more  delighful  on  earth 
than  to  return  home  in  the  evening  and  find  my  beloved  wife  with 
my  darling  child  in  her  arms.  I  form  the  third  figure  of  that  group  ; 
and  I  should  remain  for  hours  in  admiration  if,  sooner  or  later,  loud 
cries  did  not  recall  the  fact  that  human  beings  are  very  fragile,  that 
over  the  little  head  many  dangers  are  hovering,  that  the  joys  of  pater 
nity  are  given  only  to  sweeten  its  responsibilities." 

His  thanks  to  the  godfather,  which  must  not  be  omitted,  were  for 
a  heavenly  favour :  "Allow  me  to  thank  you  for  your  good  wishes 


232  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

and  prayers  for  our  little  angel.  She  owes  you  in  some  measure  her 
wings,  for  terrestrial  angels  have  none  other  than  those  of  Faith  and 
Love,  which  are  conferred  on  them  in  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  .  . 
Your  name  is  one  of  the  first  which  shall  be  formed  on  her  lips  as  soon 
as  she  will  begin  to  pray.  I  am  anxiously  awaiting  that  time,  which 
I  pray  may  come  soon.  I  think  that,  when  that  dear  little  creature, 
so  sweet  and  so  innocent,  will  be  able  to  lisp  a  prayer,  there  will 
not  be  anything  that  Heaven  can  refuse  her." 

A  short  time  after  the  birth,  Ozanam  took  his  wife  and  baby  for 
holidays  to  Nogent-sur-Marne.  He  said  he  was  happy  :  "A  holiday 
in  the  country  gives  me  leisure  which  I  have  not  had  for  ever  so  long. 
We  are  three-quarters  of  an  hour  beyond  Vincennes  on  a  slope  which 
commands  the  Marne.  The  garden  is  large,  the  air  pure,  the  weather 
beautiful.  My  wife  is  regaining  her  strength  rapidly  and  my  daughter 
is  developing  like  a  little  blossom.  It  is  one  of  those  rare  moments 
of  happiness  in  life  which  bring  God's  goodness  closer  to  us." 

With  the  intention  doubtless  of  placing  in  the  cradle  a  present  on 
pay  ing  his  call,  the  Dean  of  Literature,  M.  le  Clerc,  selected  that  moment 
to  propose  Ozanam  for  civic  honours.  Ozanam  heard  it  and  animated 
with  a  sense  of  delicacy,  asked  the  Dean  to  postpone  the  matter  for  the 
present.  Such  a  proceeding  would,  closely  following  his  nomination 
to  the  University  Chair,  and  his  father-in-law's  appointment  to  a 
high  administrative  post,  look  like  a  greed  for  University  and  civic 
honours.  The  delicacy  of  the  suggestion  was  appreciated.  On  the 
4th  May,  1846,  the  following  year,  Ozanam  was  named  Chevalier  of 
the  Legion  of  Honour. 

Those  were  indeed  happy  years  from  1844  to  1846,  all  of  them 
passed  in  the  fulness  of  family  life  and  in  his  beloved  labour  of  research. 
Ozanam  brought  to  that  domestic  environment  a  simple  poetical 
taste  with  which  he  embellished  the  most  every-day  occurrences. 
For  instance,  though  usually  so  absorbed,  that  he  did  not  notice  what 
was  placed  on  the  table,  he  was  particular  that  something  extra  should 
appear  there  on  Sundays  and  Feast  Days.  It  was  he  himself  who 
frequently  provided  the  surprise.  He  set  great  store  on  a  bunch  of 
flowers,  and  he  liked  to  have  one  on  his  desk.  He  never  failed  to 
present  his  wife,  on  the  23rd  of  each  month,  the  date  of  their  marriage, 
with  some  flower  of  his  fancy  ;  and  he  kept  up  the  custom  to  the  very 
eve  of  his  death.  I  have  already  said  that  he  appreciated  Art.  There 
were  not  any  happier  evenings  than  those  on  which  Madame  Ozanam 


HIS  WORK  233 

interpreted  at  the  piano  the  classical  masters  whom  he  appreciated 
as  a  poet. 

All  that  happiness  was  purchased  by  hard  intellectual  work,  which 
was  a  further  cause  of  joy.  The  holidays  at  Nogent-sur-Marne  were 
not  spent  in  idleness.  All  his  free  time  was  devoted  to  the  editing 
and  preparation  of  "  his  interminable  volume  on  the  ancient  Germans," 
as  he  himself  called  it. 

The  opening  of  the  Session  in  1846  found  his  work  anything  but 
lightened.  In  a  letter  dated  the  6th  January,  to  the  learned  and  pious 
M.  L6on  Bore,  a  correspondent  in  Bavaria,  he  describes  it  as  over 
whelming  :  "  To  answer  half-a-dozen  urgent  letters  lying  in  my  drawer  ; 
to  interview  candidates  for  the  different  Degrees  in  the  University  ; 
to  put  something  in  the  empty  hands  of  the  printers,  who  keep  shouting 
for  proofs,  and  at  the  same  time  to  deliver  my  lectures  regularly  : 
Monday's  and  Thursday's  lectures  are  inexorable."  He  wrote  to  the 
same  correspondent  on  the  26th  February  as  follows  :  "  I  find  myself 
this  year  with  a  double  load.  On  the  one  hand,  I  am  working  up  a 
course  of  lectures  on  Early  English  Literature,  or  rather  on  the  His 
tory  of  Breton,  Irish,  and  Saxon  Literatures  up  to  the  Norman  Con 
quest.  On  the  other  hand,  you  will  find  in  the  Correspondant  two 
contributions  from  my  pen  on  the  Laws,  Language  and  Poetry  of 
the  Ancient  Germans,  which  will  complete  the  representation  of 
Ancient  Germany  up  to  the  Roman  Conquest.  ...  My  whole  life 
is  thus  a  continual  and  dour  struggle  for  time  to  devote  to  my  obliga 
tions,  my  societies,  my  works,  my  poor  and  my  friends." 

Neither  had  his  collaboration  in  the  Annals  of  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith  ceased.  In  the  report  of  May,  1845  (Vol.  17,  p.  161),  he  states: 
"  that  the  interest  which  he  finds  in  that  work  compensates  him  for 
any  trouble,  and  that  he  feels  his  soul  better  and  nearer  to  God  as  a 
result."  The  contemplation  of  the  martyrs  of  Oceania  brings  back  to 
him  the  memorable  martyrs  of  Lyons  in  the  2nd  century.  "  The  same 
scenes  are  enacted  before  our  eyes  :  the  praetorium  is  not  closed,  the 
axes  are  still  bloody :  letters  from  missionaries  bring  before  us  the 
torture  and  death  of  our  brothers.  Do  we  not  feel  Faith  quickening 
in  our  hearts,  and,  inspired  by  the  triumph  of  our  co-religionists,  shall 
we  not  also  cry  aloud  :  "  We  are  followers  of  Christ." 

The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  continued  to  occupy  most  of 
his  thoughts.  M.  Bailly  had  resigned  the  Presidency  on  the  Qth 
May,  1844,  in  a  touching  letter,  which  M.  Ozanam  and  M.  Cor- 


234  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

nudet  as  vice-presidents,  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  members.  It 
concluded  with  the  following  words:  "Farewell,  my  dear  Brothers,  and 
let  this  farewell,  which  is  not  an  act  of  separation,  unite  us  more 
closely  in  Jesus  Christ.  I  shall  conclude  by  quoting  what  I  said 
to  our  Brothers  at  the  time  the  first  Conference  had  to  divide 
on  account  of  its  growing  membership — Courage,  united  or  separated, 
together  or  apart,  let  us  love  one  another.  Let  us  love  and  serve  the 
poor.  Much  evil  is  being  done  ;  let  us  do  much  good." 

When  the  Council-General,  after  a  week's  prayer  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
had  offered  ap  in  common  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  on  the  i5th, 
i8th  and  2ist  of  May  for  their  intention,  they  deliberated  on  the  choice 
of  a  successor.  Many  eyes  were  naturally  directed  to  Ozanam.  But 
it  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  The  true  service  rendered  by  him  to  the 
Society  at  that  time  was  to  enable  it  to  meet  successfully  the  awkward 
and  dangerous  crisis  which  had  been  brought  about  by  the  resignation 
of  its  first  President.  Ozanam  and  Cornudet  had  M.  Gossin  elected. 
When  Ozanam  was  subsequently  invited  to  accept,  or  to  continue  the 
Vice-Presidency  he  agreed.  It  meant  of  course  work  but  more  obscure 
work,  in  continual  devotion  to  his  "  dear  little  Society,"  as  he  termed 
it.  As  Vice-President  he  was  constantly  and  actively  concerned  in 
its  working,  a  position  he  was  only  to  relinguish  with  life. 

The  circular  which  Ozanam  sent  to  the  Conferences,  introducing  M. 
Gossin ,  who  was  sometime  Counsellor  at  the  Royal  Courts  of  Paris, 
founder  and  President  of  the  Society  of  St.  Francis- Regis,  President  of 
the  Conference  of  St.  Suplice,  stated  briefly  :  "  His  name  is  known  to 
the  poor,  is  beloved  by  Catholics,  is  respected  by  all.  His  mature 
energy — he  was  then  fifty  years  of  age — will  be  able  to  cope  with  all 
our  works,  and  his  noble  heart  will  suffice  for  all  our  needs." 

If  Lallier,  who  had  been  next  to  M.  Bailly,  was  no  longer  there,  Ozanam 
never  writes  him  a  letter  without  mentioning  the  Society.  "  Do  you 
remember,"  he  wrote  in  August,  1845,  "  how  we  stormed,  when  you 
led  poor  de  la  Noue  into  our  Conference,  thereby  bringing  our  number 
up  to  nine  ?  To-day  we  number  about  nine  thousand  !' 

Lallier  had  founded  in  January,  1844,  the  first  Conference  in  Sens 
in  a  little  room  near  the  Notre  Dame  gate  ;  "  It's  membership,"  he 
reported,  "  consisted  of  two ;  the  meetings,  for  a  period  of  three  weeks, 
were  occupied  in  prayer,  pious  reading,  and  bag  collection.  We  kept 
asking  each  other  if  it  would  be  possible  to  find  a  third  brother  in 


AT  THE  WORKMEN'S  MEETING  235 

order  to  form  one  of  those  gatherings  which  our  Lord  promises  to  bless, 
and  in  which  three  form  a  quorum. 

The  third  brother  duly  arrived  and  enabled  the  growing  body  to 
live  its  normal  life.  On  the  13 th  February,  1844,  the  Conference  in 
Sens,  with  a  President,  Secretary-Treasurer  and  one  member  constitut 
ing  the  meeting,  wrote  its  first  minutes.  Five  months  later,  on  the 
26th  July,  the  Conference  presented  to  His  Grace  the  Archbishop, 
eighteen  active,  seventeen  honorary  members,  with  sixteen  families 
visited  in  their  own  homes.  It  was  one  day  to  total  as  many  as  fifty 
members. 

Ozanam's  correspondence  mentions  a  higher  subject  for  congratula 
tion  :  Pius  IX  had  just  been  given  to  the  Church  !  "  Concerning  our 
Society,  you  know  that  the  Council-General  has  written  a  letter  to 
our  Holy  Father,  Pius  IX,  congratulating  him  on  his  glorious  coming, 
presenting  him  with  a  copy  of  the  Manual,  and  asking  him  to  bless 
our  Society.  It  is  your  humble  servant,  who  composed  the  letter  in 
his  choicest  Latin.  I  have  the  honour  to  be  the  Latinist  of  the 
Council  as  I  happen  to  be  occasionally  the  theologian  of  the  Faculty. 
I  rather  think  that  my  penchant  for  acting  many  roles  ought  to  be 
satisfied." 

At  this  time  he  used  also  to  appear  on  Sundays  at  the  workmen's 
meeting  of  the  Society  of  St.  Xavier  in  the  crypt  of  St.  Sulpice.  He 
was  the  lecturer.  His  address  was  fraternal,  spontaneous  and  familiar 
and  at  the  same  time  full  of  charm.  Its  principal  art  consisted  in  bring 
ing  him  down  to  the  level  of  the  workmen  in  order  to  bring  them 
within  his  reach  :  "  You  see  friends,  each  has  his  trade  in  this  world. 
Mine  is  to  examine  old  books.  I  find  sometimes  in  the  dust  of  libraries 
delightful  incidents  buried  in  beautiful  histories.  Let  me  tell  you 
one  that  charmed  our  ancestors  sitting  by  the  fireside  in  the  evening 
time." 

Then  with  a  grace,  which  was  natural  to  him,  he  related  and  explained 
some  Irish  legend  ;  he  reconstructed  the  scene,  reproducing  the  heroes 
and  their  deeds,  all  leading,  where  it  should,  to  eternal  rewards  and 
punishments.  "  It  is  we  ourselves,"  he  explained,  "  who  are  working 
out  our  destiny  on  earth  unknown  to  us,  exactly  as  the  craftsmen  of 
the  Gobelins  work  at  their  tapestry.  Docilely  following  the  design 
of  an  unknown  artist,  they  devoted  themselves  to  arranging  the  several 
colours  indicated  by  him,  on  the  reverse  of  the  woof,  not  knowing  what 
the  result  of  their  work  was  to  be.  It  was  only  afterwards,  when  the  work 


236  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

was  completed,  that  they  could  admire  the  flowers,  pictures,  figures 
and  marvels  of  art,  which  then  left  their  hands  to  adorn  the  dwellings 
of  kings.  Thus,  friends,  let  us  work  on  this  earth,  docile  and  sub 
missive  to  the  will  of  God  without  knowing  what  He  is  accomplishing 
through  us.  But  He,  the  divine  Artist,  sees  and  knows.  When 
He  will  show  us  the  finished  work  of  our  life,  of  our  toil  and  of  our 
troubles,  we  shall  then  be  thrown  into  ecstasy  and  we  shall  bless  Him 
for  deigning  to  accept  and  place  our  poor  works  in  His  eternal 
mansion." 

There  was  also  the  Literary  Conference  of  the  Catholic  Study  Circle, 
or  of  the  Catholic  Institute,  as  the  general  organisation  of  Branches 
had  been  named  in  1843.  The  Institute  embraced  Science  and  Art 
as  well  as  Literature  and  Law.  The  lectures  were  given  by  an  equal 
number  of  groups  of  eminent  savants  in  each  branch  of  knowledge, 
formed  into  Committees  with  a  view  to  checking  the  effect  of  the 
anti-Christian  lectures  delivered  in  official  courses  of  instruction. 
M.  Cauchy  had  introduced  the  Institute  in  the  following  terms  : 
"  Serious  young  Christians  desire  that  the  experience  of  their  elders 
in  each  career  should  be  made  available.  They  hope  that  the  Masters 
of  Science,  men  of  world-wide  reputation  and  of  known  loyalty  to 
the  Catholic  Faith  will  not  refuse  to  act  as  their  guides.  That  hope 
will  not  be  disappointed.  The  members  of  both  committees  will 
rival  one  another  in  zeal  in  that  service.  All  will  ask,  all  have  already 
asked  God,  to  deign  to  bless  that  Association  which  cannot  fail  to 
redound  to  His  glory."* 

Literature  was  ably  represented  in  that  group  by  Ozanam's  weekly 
lecture.  It  was  in  his  hands  the  lever  with  which  he  raised  Christians 
to  great  things.  It  is  recalled  that,  trembling  with  emotion,  he  spoke 
as  follows  :  "Gentlemen,  day  by  day,  our  friends,  our  brothers,  are 
killed  as  soldiers  in  Africa  or  as  missionaries  in  the  land  of  the  Man 
darins.  What  are  we  doing  the  while  ?  Can  you  believe  that  God 
has  assigned  to  some  the  duty  of  dying  in  the  service  of  civilisation 
and  of  the  Church,  and  to  others  that  of  standing  idly  by  or  reclining 


"These  two  committees  consisted,  one  of  Physical  and  Medical  Science,  at  the 
head  of  which  was  Cauchy  ;  with  him  were  M.  Binet,  M.  Beudant,  Dr.  Teissier, 
Dr.  Cazol,  Dr.  R£camier,  Dr.  Cruveillier,  etc.  ;  the  second  of  Law  and  Literature 
with  M.  Pardessus,  M.  Berard  de  Glajeux,  M.  Fontaine  d'Orleans,  M.  Henri 
de  Riancey,  M.  Frederick  Lauras.  Later  a  committee  of  Arts  was  added  to 
the  above  under  the  direction  of  M.  Raoul  Rochette,  permanent  Secretary  of 
the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  etc. 


HIS   ILLNESS  237 

on  a  bed  of  roses  ?  Ah  !  Gentlemen,  as  Christian  workers  in  the 
fields  of  Science  and  of  Literature,  let  us  prove  that  we  are  not  so  cow 
ardly  as  to  believe  in  such  an  allocation  of  duties,  as  would  be  an  accusa 
tion  against  the  God  Who  would  have  made  it,  and  a  shame  for  us 
who  would  have  accepted  it.  Let  us  be  prepared  to  prove  that,  we 
too,  have  our  fields  of  battle  on  which  we  know  how  to  die." 

Ozanam  fell  ill.  Was  it  any  wonder  ?  He  had  an  acute  attack  of 
fever  in  the  month  of  August,  1846,  and  he  himself  refers  to  the  alarm 
ing  nature  of  it :  "I  should  probably  not  have  recovered,"  he  wrote 
subsequently,  "  but  for  the  excellent  care  and  skill  of  our  mutual 
friend,  Dr.  Gouraud,  and  Amelie's  watchful  tenderness  and  courage. 
She  was  a  wonderful  support  to  me  during  that  awful  attack." 

"  It  is  true,"  he  confesses,  "  that  I  have  been  long  overwhelmed  with 
business  matters,  to  the  excessive  number  of  which  my  sickness  has 
even  been  attributed."  Could  he  deny  it  ?  "God  deigned  to  preserve 
my  life  in  order  that  I  should  become  more  worthy.  As  if  the  better 
to  keep  me  in  mind  of  my  illness,  the  convalescent  stage,  now  lasting 
over  a  month,  leaves  me  in  such  a  state  of  weakness  that  any  physical 
exercise  or  mental  application  is  utterly  impossible.  I  have  never 
appreciated  so  well  what  a  poor  thing  man  is.  I  cannot  tell  you  how 
humiliated  I  am  to  find  that  though  I  eat  well  and  sleep  well,  an  hour's 
light  work  suffices  to  trouble  my  head  and  to  force  me  to  rest." 

It  was  to  obtain  complete  rest,  with  orders  to  do  absolutely  no  work, 
that  "  he  was  taken  and  consigned  to  the  woods  of  Meudon,  to  distract 
his  attention  from  books  and  men."  But  his  strength  was  not  return 
ing.  A  stay  on  the  heights  at  Bellevue,  near  Paris,  was  then  tried. 
The  state  of  prostration  persisted  to  such  a  degree  that  he  could  not 
even  come  down  to  visit  his  beloved  poor.  To  ease  his  mind  on  that 
point  he  daily  purchased  a  supply  of  bread  which  he  gave  to  those 
calling  at  the  door,  asking  each  one  to  pray  earnestly  for  him. 

There  could  be  no  question  of  an  immediate  resumption  of  lectures. 
The  doctors  ordered  a  year's  complete  rest.  But  rest  for  him  could  not 
mean  inaction.  A  journey  was  determined  on  as  being  at  once  profit 
able  and  agreeable,  calculated  to  occupy  the  mind  and  fortify  the  body. 
M.  de  Salvandy,  Minister  for  Education,  met  that  difficulty  by  entrust 
ing  him  with  a  mission  of  investigation  and  historical  research  in  Italy. 
The  question  of  research  was  in  his  benevolent  intention  secondary 
to  that  of  health.  But  would  Ozanam 's  conscience  so  interpret  it, 
would  it  be  a  party  to  that  arrangement  ? 


238  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

This  much  is  certain,  that  the  six  months'  tour  in  Italy  made  the 
deepest  impression  possible  on  his  mind.  The  journey  was  made  under 
the  most  favourable  conditions.  He  was  recovering  from  illness, 
and  was  beginning  to  enjoy  life  again.  He  had  with  him  the  two  beings 
he  loved  best  in  the  world,  his  wife  and  his  child.  He  had  made  a  name, 
he  bore  a  title,  he  was  undertaking  a  mission  which  would  prove  an 
"  Open  Sesame"  to  the  sanctuaries  of  Science  and  Art.  That  time  was 
for  Europe,  and  particularly  for  Italy,  a  solemn  one  beyond  all 
others  in  the  century.  The  pilgrim  of  history  was  about  to  assist 
at  one  of  those  turning  points  in  the  life  of  nations,  when  the  appear 
ance  of  new  and  brilliant  horizons  dazzles  all  eyes  and  fills  men's  minds 
with  enthusiasm  and  hope.  Ozanam's  ardent  and  noble  soul  was 
to  come  completely  under  the  magic  of  that  spell. 


239 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
MISSION  TO  ITALY. 

FLORENCE. — ROME.— PIUS      IX. — AUDIENCES      AND      OVATIONS. — VENICE. — 
ECHALLENS. 

1847. 

The  itinerary  of  the  journey,  which  began  in  December,  1846,  was 
through  the  South  of  France,  via  Genoa  and  Florence  to  Rome,  as  the 
principal  centre  for  research  and  piety.  When  he  should  have  taken 
up  his  winter  quarters,  the  Professor  promised  himself  a  run  at  his 
leisure  through  Umbria,  the  Romagnas,  Ravenna,  Venice,  and  Lom- 
bardy.  He  intended  to  penetrate  through  the  Spliigen  Pass  and  the 
country  around  Chur,  as  far  as  St.  Gall  and  Einsiedeln,  to  which  ancient 
German  and  monastic  monuments  were  calling  him.  Then,  following 
the  Rhine  from  Basle  to  Cologne,  he  would  take  the  route  to  France 
through  Belgium.  He  would  return  to  France  with  body  and  mind 
refreshed,  laden  with  souvenirs  and  documents  for  the  fulfilment  of 
his  literary  mission,  and  with  a  new  strength  and  courage  for  the 
resumption  of  his  lectures  and  his  activities. 

"  That  memorable  journey  was  made,"  in  M.  Ampere's  phrase,  "in 
a  state  of  perpetual  enchantment.  Ozanam  had  a  continual  flow  of 
that  good  humour  and  gaiety  which  constituted  one  of  the  prin 
cipal  charms  of  his  company.  His  enquiring  and  enthusiastic  mind 
never  wearied  of  learning  and  admiring,  now  the  things  of  nature, 
now  of  Art.  He  took  copious  notes,  read  numerous  inscriptions, 
visited  places  illustrious  in  history,  and  scenes  revivified  by  his  imagina 
tion.  Some  of  his  notes  have  grown  into  volumes,  as  we  shall  see. 
The  greater  part  have  remained  unfinished  as  they  were  first  sketched 
out.  We  shall  select  some  passages  from  his  published  notes,  which 
best  exemplify  his  Christian  mind. 

Ozanam's  notes  describe  himself  to  us  on  me  8th  January,  1847,  on 
the  top  of  the  dome  of  Florence  whence  "  his  eye  swept  the  city  of 


240  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

marble,  surrounded  by  its  green  hills."  What  each  of  those  wonder 
ful  buildings  suggest  to  him  is  the  thought  of  the  men  who  conceived 
them,  of  the  life  which  throbbed  in  them,  of  the  names  of  the  saints 
and  men  of  genius  who  immortalised  them,  of  the  artists  who  chiselled 
or  decorated  them  during  that  period  of  inspiration  and  art  which 
includes  Michael  Angelo.  He  gives  the  following  appreciation  of  the 
latter :  "  That  great  man  was  probably  the  greatest  of  all  Christian 
sculptors,  but  he  was  the  last.  He  interred  the  natural  sculpture  of 
the  Middle  Ages  right  nobly,  and  left  behind  him  the  bad  example 
of  having  sought  to  astonish  mankind,  when  he  might  have  chosen 
to  edify  and  instruct  them." 

Nothing  impressed  him  more  than  the  proud  inscription  which  he 
read  on  the  tower  of  the  Vieux-Palais :  "/•  C.  Rex,  Flor.  elect.  S.P.Q. 
Jesus  Christ,  King  of  Florence,  elected  by  the  Senate  and  the  people." 
He  adds  "  I  recognise  in  that  a  people  who  wished  to  obey  God  only, 
and  who,  alas  !  did  not  obey  Him  always." 

In  Pisa,  the  pilgrim  of  art  and  faith  paid  his  pious  addresses  to  the 
Cathedral,  the  Duomo.  Viewing  that  Notre  Dame,  so  like  a  lance, 
so  light  in  construction,  he  asked  himself  "  if  it  be  indeed  raised  from 
the  ground  or  if,  having  descended  from  heaven,  it  simply  rests  there, 
with  the  eighty-four  columns  of  its  five  naves,  recalling  the  palms 
of  the  eternal  gardens." 

The  journey  from  Florence  to  Rome  was  made  in  easy  relays,  in  a 
carriage  or  even  an  open  car,  stopping  to  admire,  to  learn,  or  to  pray, 
wherever  there  was  anything  to  admire  or  any  special  place  of  prayer, 
admiring  and  praying  doubly  because  his  wife  and  he  were  together. 
Thus,  on  returning  from  a  visit  to  the  old  and  curious  Church  of  San 
Gemignano :  "  It  was  on  the  I7th  January,  the  feast  of  St.  Anthony. 
We  were  descending  the  slopes  of  San  Gemignano.  The  sun  had 
set,  but  the  air  was  so  balmy  that  we  did  not  feel  the  cold  through 
our  cloaks.  The  pleasure  of  being  together  on  the  evening  of  my  feast 
will  remain  one  of  the  most  charming  memories  of  the  journey." 

On  the  2nd  February,  1847,  the  Feast  of  the  Presentation,  Ozanam 
assisted  for  the  first  time  at  a  Pontifical  function  in  the  Quirinal  Chapel : 
"At  first  I  only  saw  the  Pope  in  the  distance  on  his  throne,  from  which 
he  was  distributing  the  candles  of  Candlemas.  But  when  the  procession 
approached  and  I  could  scan  closely  the  features  of  the  Vicar  of  Jesus 
Christ,  I  was  moved  to  tears.  I  saw  that  face  so  sweet  and  holy,  those 
eyes  and  that  mouth  expressive  of  such  charity,  that  head  which  was 


PIUS  IX  241 

beginning  to  blanch  under  the  weight  of  the  Pontificate.  As  he  was 
entering  the  Choir,  I  read  the  words  of  the  Introit  of  the  day  which 
are  so  applicable  to  Pius  IX  :  Veniet  desideratm  cunctis  gentibus  et 
implebit  domum  istam  gloria.  That  ancient  house  of  the  Quirinal 
is  filling  with  glory  and  the  eyes  of  all  nations  are  looking  to  him  to 
day." 

On  the  I3th  February  Monsieur  and  Madame  Ozanam  went  to  the 
Seminary  Church  of  St.  Apollinaris  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Holy 
Father,  and  the  Holy  Communion  from  his  own  hands.  '  The  sub 
lime  moment  arrived  when  the  Pope,  having  finished  giving  Holy 
Communion  to  the  ecclesiastics,  expressed  the  wish  to  give  the 
Host  to  the  people.  The  guards  opened  a  passage.  The  Pope  des 
cended  the  altar  and  a  movement  took  place  among  the  crowd  to  come 
to  him  at  the  Holy  Table.  The  steps  were  filled  with  two  rows  of 
the  faithful,  crowded  together,  moved  even  to  tears.  The  dowager 
Queen  of  Saxony,  poor  Italians,  men  and  women  of  different  nations 
were  all  there  :  and  my  Amelie  by  my  side,  as  we  have  always  been 
in  our  happiness,  as  we  hope  always  to  be  to  the  end  of  this  life  and  in 
the  next.  The  sacred  procession  approached.  I  saw  the  marvellous 
figure  of  Pius  IX  illumined  by  the  candles,  moved  by  the  sacredness 
of  the  moment,  appearing  nobler  and  gentler  than  ever.  I  kissed  his 
ring,  the  ring  of  the  Fisherman  which  has  sealed  so  many  immortal 
acts  during  the  course  of  eighteen  centuries  !  Then  I  would  look  no 
more,  for  I  wished  to  concentrate  my  mind  on  Him  who  is  the  Master 
of  all  and  in  Whose  presence  even  Pontiffs  are  but  dust." 

The  rest  of  that  letter  is  devoted  to  Pius  IX  :"  Pius  IX,  the  conqueror 
of  all  hearts  ;  it  was  by  winning  affections  that  the  earlier  Popes  con 
quered  all  Europe.  You  will  see  that  it  will  be  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
who  will  reconcile  the  world  and  the  Papacy."  Pius  IX,  the  saint 
of  God  :  "  It  is  three  centuries,  the  time  of  Pius  V,  since  the  Church 
has  witnessed  the  canonisation  of  a  Pope.  This  Pope  will  indeed  link 
up  the  long  chain  of  saints  from  the  Chair  of  Peter." 

Then  there  is  Pius  IX  in  his  private  life  and  in  his  private  audience. 
Ozanam  writes  of  him  as  follows  on  the  yth  February  :  "We  have  had 
the  great  honour  of  being  received  in  special  audience,  and  His  Holiness 
was  gracious  enough  to  insist  on  my  wife  being  seated,  and  on  patting 
and  blessing  my  little  child  of  a  year  and  a  half.  My  child,  Marie, 
behaved  like  a  little  angel,  kneeling  of  her  own  accord  before  the 
Pope,  joining  her  hands  with  an  air  of  veneration,  as  if  he  were  the 

Q 


242  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

good  God  Himself.  The  Holy  Father  spoke  to  us  of  France,  of  the 
youth  in  the  schools,  of  the  duties  of  education,  with  inexpressible 
nobility,  feeling  and  grace.  I  seized  the  opportunity  to  speak  to 
him  about  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  The  Pope  answered 
that  he  knew  the  Society  and  the  good  work  which  the  young  men  were 
doing  in  their  visits  to  the  poor  and  to  the  sick.  '  It  is  doing 
so  much  good  in  France  !'  he  exclaimed.  There  is  so  much  Charity 
being  accomplished.  All  our  hope  for  the  future  lies  in  young  men/ 
Then  he  added  with  impressiveness  :  'Religion  is  the  most  beautiful 
blossom  that  can  open  on  this  earth.'  ' 

"  When  I  said  that  the  deserved  popularity  of  his  name  would 
multiply  conversions  to  Catholicism,  he  replied  :  '  I  am  well  aware 
that  God  has  performed  the  miracle  of  changing  unreasonable  preju 
dices  suddenly  into  respect  and  love.  What  I  cannot  understand  is 
that  He  has  deigned  to  make  use  of  such  an  unprofitable  servant  as  I 
for  such  a  change.'  Those  words  were  spoken  with  such  sincerity  and 
humility  that,  coming  from  the  Vicar  of  God,  they  moved  us  to  tears." 

The  popularity  of  Pius  IX  was  the  fruit  and  the  reward  of  his  liberal 
policy.  Elevated  to  the  See  of  Peter  on  the  I7th  June,  1846,  he  had 
inaugurated  his  reign  with  a  series  of  spontaneous  acts  of  reform. 
Amnesty,  revision  of  the  Civil  and  Criminal  Code,  the  organisation  of 
a  Civil  Guard,  the  creation  of  a  Council  of  State,  had  been  received 
one  after  another  with  growing  enthusiasm  by  the  Italian  people. 
Ozanam's  noble  spirit  and  simple  heart  were  amazed  and  delighted. 
He  describes  the  Papal  Blessing  on  Easter  Sunday  from  the  basilica 
of  St.  Peter :  the  improvised  escort  which  conducted  the  Pope  in 
triumph  back  to  the  Quirinal,  the  streets  which,  as  he  was  passing  by 
night,  were  suddenly  illuminated  as  if  by  enchantment :  "  The  people 
are  captivated  by  their  Bishop  and  their  Prince,"  he  said  ;  "  they 
speak  of  him  in  extravagant  terms.  All  this  has  gone  on  for  almost 
ten  months.  That  is  a  long  time  in  an  age  in  which  popularity  is 
ephemeral." 

The  principal  charm  of  the  journey,  next  to  seeing  the  Pope,  was  the 
visit  to  the  tombs  and  the  earthly  traces  of  the  saints  and  martyrs. 
He  wrote  as  follows  to  Lallier :  "All  this  veritable  pilgrimage  is  full 
of  spiritual  consolation.  We  passed  one  half  of  our  time  by  the  side 
of  the  tombs  of  the  great  men  and  sainted  women,  whose  spiritual 
value  one  appreciates  better  after  seeing  where  they  lived,  moved, 
and  had  their  being,  and  where  they  now  repose." 


ROME  243 

They  found  in  Rome,  the  one  priest  who  was  best  qualified  to  intro 
duce  them  to  the  soul  of  Christian  Rome.  "  We  received  Holy  Com 
munion  at  the  Abbe  Gerbet's  Mass  in  St.  Peter's,  on  the  very  spot 
where  the  holy  apostle  is  buried  :  there,  for  more  than  one  hour,  we 
remembered  in  our  prayers  all  those  whom  we  love. 

"We  went  down  five  times  into  the  catacombs,  nearly  always  with 
the  Abbe  Gerbet,  who  explained  the  sub-structure  and  the  mural 
decorations.  He  generally  closed  the  visit  with  a  lecture  on  the 
marytrs  and  the  recitation  of  the  Litanies.*  I  know  nothing  in  the 
world  more  touching  than  the  sight  of  the  cemeteries  of  the  early 
Christians,  nothing  better  calculated  to  quicken  faith  nor  to  strengthen 
souls.  Nowhere  can  be  seen  better  the  innocence,  simplicity,  and 
invincible  courage  of  the  infant  Church,  the  signs  and  tokens  of  its 
divinity." 

The  same  letter  returns  to  Pius  IX  and  young  Italy  :  "  I  regard  it 
as  one  of  the  greatest  pieces  of  good  fortune  in  my  life  to  have  been 
in  Rome  during  the  winter  of  1847,  to  have  witnessed  the  glorious  in 
auguration  of  the  Pontificate  of  Pius  IX  :  to  have  seen  at  close  quarters 
that  most  admirable  Pope,  to  have  been  present  at  the  universal 
awakening  of  Italy.  The  popularity  or  unpopularity  of  a  Pope  is 
certainly  not  a  matter  that  should  strengthen  or  shake  faith  ;  but 
the  heart  is  none  the  less  filled  with  a  just  pride  at  seeing  the  Father, 
in  whom  one  believes,  surrounded  by  such  admiration  and  love." 

The  happiness  of  the  life  in  Rome,  an  enthusiasm  mingled  with 
piety,  would  have  been  an  unmixed  blessing  for  Ozanam,  whom  be 
sides  it  was  beginning  to  restore  to  health,  if  it  had  not  been  clouded 
by  a  cause  for  profound  grief.  He  had  been  there  for  a  month  and  a 
half,  when  he  heard  on  the  third  of  March,  that  his  brother-in-law  had 
.succumbed  to  an  unexpected  attack  of  his  infirmity.  "Our  well- 
beloved  brother,"  he  wrote,  "  who  had  lived  the  life  of  a  martyr, 
died  the  death  of  a  saint.  At  the  age  of  23  he  quitted  this  earth,  I 
will  not  say  merely  with  resignation,  but  with  a  joy  that  was  divine. 
His  death  makes  a  terrible  void  in  our  family  circle.  He  was  its  soul, 
his  sufferings  were  our  grief,  his  virtue  and  serenity  were  our  consola 
tion,  his  high  intellect  our  pride  and  our  hope.  His  sister  has  not  yet 
recovered  from  the  terrible  blow.  For  three  weeks  my  sole  care  has 

*The  Abbe  Gerbet  was  then  working  at  the  third  volume  of  his  Christian 
Rome.  "  If  we  had  him  in  France,"  wrote  Ozanam  to  Foisset,  "  would  he  not 
.be  the  natural  successor  to  Ballanche  in  the  French  Academy  ? 


244  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

been  to  console  her  in  her  affliction.  It  was  most  desirable  that  she 
should  return  at  once  to  Paris.  But  the  very  nature  of  her  illness 
made  that  impossible." 

"  However,  the  sympathy  of  kind  friends,  particularly  of  the  Abbe 
Gerbet,  the  grandeur  of  the  ceremonies  of  Holy  Week,  the  certainty 
that  the  dear  departed  had  exchanged  a  painful  existence  here  below 
for  the  happiness  of  eternal  life,  all  combined  to  make  Amelie  some 
what  reconciled."  A  later  letter  stated  that  the  pilgrims  had  commenc 
ed  their  itinerary  by  way  of  Italy,  not  passing  through  Germany, 
"  so  as  not  to  delay  the  moment  of  return  to  the  family  circle." 

Ozanam  had  desired  previously  to  visit  Monte  Casino,  where  he 
now  spent  two  days  by  himself :  "  I  had  the  great  happiness  of  receiv 
ing  Holy  Communion  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Benedict,  and  of  finding  all 
Benedictine  tradition  on  record  in  the  excellent  library  of  the  Abbey. 
The  good  fathers  showed  me  their  precious  manuscripts,  from  which 
I  made  some  extracts.  That  will  not  be  the  least  interesting  portion 
of  my  literary  booty.*  Those  good  religious  know  how  to  do  every 
thing  except  to  keep  one  warm.  I  had  like  to  have  perished  amid 
their  beautiful  records,  and  I  returned  with  a  severe  cold  which  cul 
minated  in  a  feverish  attack.  Fortunately  the  attack  lasted  only 
one  day,  and  left  me  well  enough  to  be  present  on  Monday  afternoon 
at  the  audience  which  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  had  graciously  accorded 
me.  I  had  to  thank  him  for  the  great  assistance  which  he  had  deigned 
to  afford  me  in  my  research." 

Another  motive  for  that  visit  was  "  to  place  in  the  ;Holy  Father's 
hands  addresses  from  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  It  was  nine 
o'clock  at  night  when  I  was  permitted  to  enter,  and  His  Holiness, 
although  much  fatigued  after  the  day's  work,  received  me  so  cordially 
that  I  was  deeply  moved.  He  enquired  after  my  wife,  my  little  child 
and  my  brothers  with  charming  friendship  and  familiarity." 

The  Romans  excelled  themselves  in  popular  demonstrations.  On 
the  2 ist  April,  two  days  before  leaving  Rome,  Ozanam  was  able  to 
view,  from  the  top  of  the  Coliseum  where  he  had  secured  a  seat,  the 
great  spectacle  of  a  magnificent  banquet  to  eight  hundred  guests 
organised  by  the  municipality  over  the  baths  of  Titus,  in  honour 
of  the  2,6ooth  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  Rome.  It  was 

*  Those  documents  were  printed  in  1850  under  the  title  of  :  Documents  inSdits 
pour  servir  a  I'histoire  litter  ire  de  I' Italic  depuis  le  VII*  siecle  jusqu'  au  XIIIe~ 
Preceded  by  a  long  Preface  on  Les  £coles  en  Italic  aux  temps  barbares. 


OVATION  FOR  THE  POPE  245 

merely  an  occasion  for  speech-making.  Many  addresses  were 
delivered,  among  others,  by  the  distinguished  Professor  Orioli, 
by  the  son-in-law  of  Manzoni  and  by  the  Marquis  d'Azeglio. 
The  event  reached  its  climax  in  a  tremendous  ovation  in  honour 
of  Pius  IX,  who  had  recently  published  an  Edict  broadening 
the  basis  of  provincial  representation.  A  torchlight  procession  was 
held  at  night.  It  was  marshalled  at  the  Piazza,  del  Popolo  and  marched 
by  the  Corso  and  the  Piazza  Colonna  to  the  Piazza  Monte  Cavallo. 
Ozanam  describes  the  scene  to  his  brother  in  these  words  : 

"One  thing  alone  was  wanting  to  complete  the  happiness  of  our 
tour.  We  should  have  very  much  liked  to  see  one  of  those  popular 
ovations  of  which  we  had  heard  so  much.  It  would  have  been  a  great 
privation  to  Amelie  to  depart  without  again  seeing  the  Pope  and  carry 
ing  with  her  a  final  blessing  .  .  ." 

"On  Tuesday  evening,  the  22nd,  we  were  informed  that  all  was 
ready  to  give  thanks  to  the  Pope  for  his  new  edict.  There  was  to  be 
a  great  torchlight  procession.  We  hurried  down  to  the  Corso  with 
the  Abbe  Gerbet  and  some  other  friends  who  had  come  to  bid  us 
good-bye.  The  place  of  meeting  was  at  the  Piazza  del  Popolo,  where 
the  torches  were  handed  out.  We  saw  the  starting  of  the  triumphal 
procession,  which  was  headed  by  a  band  followed  by  a  column  of  torch- 
bearers,  estimated  at  6,000  men,  marching  in  perfect  order.  There 
were  middle-class  people,  workmen  in  overalls,  priests  in  their  soutanes, 
all  united  by  the  one  sentiment.  Viva  Pio  nono  \  As  the  procession 
advanced  to  the  Corso,  houses  were  illuminated  on  the  way,  every 
story  being  decorated  with  flags  and  mottoes.  We  followed  the  crowd 
to  the  Piazza  Colonna,  to  reach  by  a  short-cat  the  Piazza  Monte  Cavallo 
whither  they  were  bound.  The  Piazza  was  already  black  with  people. 
We  saw  the  arrival  of  the  bands  and  the  torchbearers,  who  made  room 
for  themselves  and  formed  a  square  around  the  Edict.  This  was 
borne  as  a  banner  before  the  gates  of  the  Papal  Palace. 

"After  some  pieces  had  been  discoursed  by  the  band  a  great  shout 
was  raised,  the  shout  of  50,000  men.  The  window  on  the  balcony 
was  opened  and  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  appeared,  accompanied  by  two 
Prelates  and  retainers  bearing  torches.  He  bowed  right  and  left 
with  captivating  grace.  The  acclamation  and  shouts  of  welcome 
redoubled ;  but  this  is  what  most  appealed  to  me.  The  Pope  raised 
his  hand  and  behold  !  but  one  word  Zitto  \  (hush  !)  was  heard,  and 
in  less  than  a  minute  silence  reigned  supreme  over  that  enthusiastic 


246  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

multitude.  Then  the  voice  of  the  Pontiff  was  raised  in  benediction. 
He  stretched  out  his  hand  and  made  the  Sign  of  the  Cross.  When  he 
had  pronounced  the  solemn  words  of  blessing,  the  sound  of  a  grand 
Amen  was  heard  from  one  end  of  the  multitude  to  the  other.  Nothing 
could  be  more  impressive  and  beautiful  than  the  prayer  of  an  entire 
city  with  its  Bishop,  at  that  advanced  hour  of  the  night  under 
stars  set  in  a  superb  sky  !  It  was  also  a  religious  act,  for  as  soon  as 
the  Pope  had  retired  from  the  balcony  all  torches  were  extinguished 
at  the  same  moment.  The  only  light  now  cast  on  the  scene  was  the 
flare  from  some  Bengal  lamps  on  the  terraces  of  the  palaces  close  by 

"At  half -past  nine  we  were  among  the  last  to  leave  the  Piazza  del 
Quirinale,  and  we  returned  through  streets  as  silent  and  as  deserted 
as  if  it  were  midnight.  The  Romans  had  gone  to  rest  like  good 
children,  who  had  come  to  say  good-night  to  their  father  before 
retiring." 

Ozanam  left  the  next  day.  We  do  not  intend  to  follow  him  on  the 
second  part  of  his  itenerary  into  Umbria,  the  land  of  saints  and  of  holy 
legends,  into  which  his  Etudes  franciscaines  will  bring  us  again.  "  All 
that  portion  of  our  Italian  journey,"  he  writes,  "  has  been  embittered, 
and  it  is  through  a  veil  of  sadness  that  we  saw  Assisi,  Ravenna,  Venice, 
and  other  wonders.  As  we  advance  in  years,  is  there  not  always  a  veil 
of  sadness  before  our  eyes,  and  must  we  not  steel  ourselves  so  to  regard 
the  beautiful  things  of  this  earth  from  which  we  are  soon  to  tear  our 
selves  away." 

Ozanam's  ten  days  in  Venice  were  a  period  of  enchantment.  He 
arrived  at  night  in  a  gondola.  The  unexpected  view  of  the  Piazza 
Grande  garlanded  with  lights,  drew  from  him  expressions  of  joy  and 
admiration.  "  On  the  right  and  on  the  left  were  the  Palaces  of  the 
Procurator  with  the  Campanile  ;  at  the  further  end  St.  Mark's,  its 
carved  facade,  its  domes  and  its  crosses;  on  turning  around  the 
Piazzetta,  the  superb  frowning  Ducal  Palace,  the  columns  of  St.  Mark 
and  St.  George,  and  then  the  sea.  ...  At  this  point  real  vision  failed 
me  and  I  dreamed  ;  it  seemed  to  me  that  all  this  fairyland  must  dis 
appear  at  the  first  cold  rays  of  dawn.  It  was  ten  o'clock  at  night ; 
one  heard  music  on  all  sides  ;  groups  of  men  and  young  women  were 
standing  in  the  porticos.  I  was  beginning  to  appreciate  the 
the  charm  of  that  city  of  magic  and  the  cause  of  its  destruction. 

"  Day  broke.  Ten  times  I  have  seen  the  sun  rise  over  Venice,  and 
I  realised  as  many  times  that  my  dream  had  not  vanished.  Venice 


DEATH  OF  BALLANCHE  247 

attracted  me  more  than  I  thought  possible.  .  .  .  What  charming 
hours,  what  happy  all-too-fleeting  moments  in  the  gondolas,  on  the 
Lido,  where  we  felt  the  gentle  movement  of  the  waters  of  the  Adriatic  ! 
What  interesting  pilgrimages  to  the  good  Armenians  of  St.  Lazare, 
who  do  the  honours  of  their  little  monastery  of  red  brick  and  laughing 
gardens  ;  to  the  Isles  of  Muranno  and  Torcello  where  ancient  sanctuaries 
survive  a  dead  prosperity  ! 

"  But  these  joyous  sights  were  tinged  with  an  element  of  sadness. 
I  saw  the  three  masts  despoiled  of  the  banners  of  the  three  kingdoms, 
which  were  formerly  the  glory  of  the  Republic,  and  on  the  Piazzetta 
were  Austrian  cannon  with  Hungarian  grenadiers  on  guard." 

Ozanam  is  to  be  found  in  the  early  days  of  June  resuming  his  journey 
to  France  through  Switzerland.  He  was  a  pilgrim  of  history  at  St. 
Gall,  that  early  centre  of  Christian  civilisation  for  Germany.  He  had 
expected  to  find  traces  of  St.  Columbanus  and  of  the  great  Western 
saints  in  that  monastery.  He  arrived  on  the  next  day  at  Einsiedeln, 
where  he  mingled  with  the  pilgrims  from  the  Cantons  and  from  the 
Tyrol,  at  the  feet  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Hermits. 

He  was  in  Geneva  on  the  I5th  June  with  his  friend,  Dr.  Dufresne. 
Opening  a  newspaper  at  random  he  learned  of  the  death  of  M.  Ballanche. 
He  was  much  grieved  at  it.  Ozanam  unbosomed  himself  to  Jean- 
Jacques  Ampere  in  the  following  letter  dated  the  iyth :  "When  I  last 
shook  the  hand  of  our  venerable  friend,  I  never  thought  that  he  was 
to  form  one  of  the  number,  alas,  so  large  !  of  those  whom  I  should  not 
see  again.  Or  rather,  he  is  indeed  one  of  those  whom  we  shall  see 
again,  if  we  are  worthy.  That  great  pure  soul,  after  a  full  Christian 
life  crowned  by  a  happy  death,  has  departed  to  swell  the  circle  of 
blessed  souls,  who  are  expecting  and  attracting  us." 

"  But  for  us  here  below,  that  is  a  loss  which  creates  a  mighty  void 
in  the  already  thin  ranks  of  that  refined  literary  generation  which  was 
thrown  up  by  the  Revolution  to  cover  its  ruins  with  immortal  bloom  ! 
WThat  a  solitary  figure  is  M.  de  Chateaubriand  to-day,  who  is  now  the 
sole  surviving  patriarch  of  the  companions  of  his  earthly  pilgrimage, 
and  who  does  not  know  where  to  turn  for  consolation  because  they  are 
no  more  !  What  a  source  of  grief  for  you  who  lose  the  dearest  friend 
of  your  illustrious  father,  and  for  me  who  miss  the  best  friend  of  my 
young  days." 

"  Permit  us,  my  dear  friend,  to  mingle  our  tears  with  yours,  afflicted 
as  we  are  with  a  like  grief.  We  know  only  too  well,  from  a  recent 


248  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

bereavement,  that  all  sympathy  is  sweet,  even  that  coming  from 
lowly  sources." 

One  of  his  last  days  in  Switzerland  was  given  over  to  a  pilgrimage 
to  a  dear  and  hallowed  spot.  It  was  a  pilgrimage  of  altogether  domestic 
interest,  having  for  Ozanam  the  dearest  recollections  of  any  scene  in 
those  mountain  valleys.  His  description  reproduces  the  scene  fully. 

He  relates  that  it  was  on  the  2ist  June  that  he  remembered  that 
"  half  way  between  Lausanne  and  Verdun  was  the  village  of  Echallens 
whither  his  grand-father  Nantas  had  fled  during  the  late  months  of 
the  Terror,  and  of  which  his  mother  had  often  spoken."  He  made  up 
his  mind  to  visit  it.  "  What  would  I  not  have  given,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  to  know  in  which  house  my  forebears  dwelt  !  I  saw  the  copses 
and  paths  where  they  picked  wild  strawberries.  The  Carthusian 
uncle  preceded  them  as  a  guide,  and  when  he  discovered  a  cluster  of 
strawberries  he  called  his  happy  nieces,  '  Come  girls,  they  are  quite 
ripe  !'  They  returned  with  their  baskets  full  of  that  luscious  little 
fruit,  which  they  ate  with  excellent  cream.  I  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Church  where  my  dear  mother  made  her  first  Communion  under  the 
direction  of  the  good  Cure,  who  often  said  to  her,  '  We  shall  both  go 
to  Heaven  !'  It  was  alas  !  as  my  mother  had  described  it,  divided 
into  two  parts,  one  for  Catholic,  and  one  for  Protestant  worship.  The 
dear  Church  is  very  badly  kept,  yet  I  prayed  in  it  with  more  fervour 
than  usual.  I  thanked  God  for  the  favours  He  had  bestowed  in  this 
same  place  on  the  exiles.  I  prayed  for  my  dear  mother  only  because 
it  is  a  duty  to  pray  for  the  dead.  As  I  believe  she  is  happy  and  power 
ful  in  Heaven,  I  asked  her  to  watch  over  us,  to  help  us  to  conclude 
safely  this  long  drawn-out  journey,  and  above  all  to  obtain  for  her 
children  some  of  her  sweet  virtues. 

"  My  wife  and  my  mother-in-law  prayed  with  me,  and  my  darling 
Mary  knelt  quite  seriously  at  the  altar  rails.  Amelie  gathered  some 
flowers  on  the  height  on  which  the  Church  is  perched. 

"  They  are  not  the  same  flowers  that  our  dear  mother  trod  as  she 
went  to  Mass,  but  they  are  like  them,  and  please  God  we,  too,  shall  be 
like  her." 

The  eight  months  tour  amid  such  enchanting  scenes  had  been 
beneficial  to  Ozanam  as  well  as  to  his  family.  He  wrote  as  follows  to 
Lallier :  "  As  for  health,  mine  is  not  at  all  bad,  and  my  wife  has  got 
stronger.  What  we  cannot  sufficiently  thank  Providence  for  is  that 
during  the  whole  period  of  eight  months,  our  dear  child  has  not  had 


ILLUSIONS  249 

two  days'  sickness.  That  freedom  from  human  complaints  would 
confirm  me  in  the  impression  that  she  is  a  little  angel,  did  she  not  give 
way  occasionally  to  fits  of  violent  temper." 

The  sojourn  was  beneficial  to  his  mind,  which  had  been  broadened 
by  the  contemplation  of  those  impressive  scenes ;  it  was  soothing 
to  his  heart  which  was  now  filled  with  such  fair  hopes.  But  were 
these  latter  not  mere  illusions  which  would  be  transformed  by  the 
malice  of  men  into  so  many  bitter  disappointments  ?  That  is  so,  but 
it  is  none  the  less  so  that  Ozanam's  enthusiasm  for  the  progressive 
policy  of  Pius  IX.  was  shared  by  the  large  majority  of  French  Catholics. 
As  far  as  Ozanam  was  concerned,  that  enthusiasm  was  not  the  effect 
of  emotion  and  enthusiasm,  but  the  result  of  observation  and  con 
viction,  which  he  longed  to  unfold  and  to  maintain  as  a  politician  and 
a  Christian. 


250 


CHAPTER  XX. 
THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1848. 

PONTIFICAL  POLICY.— "  ROME'S  DANGERS  AND  HOPES."— THE  FEBRUARY 
REVOLUTION.— POLITICAL  CANDIDATURE. — "  THE  PARTY  OF  CON 
FIDENCE." 

Ozanam  reached  Paris  in  the  early  days  of  August,  1847.  He  found 
himself  importuned  by  so  many  hurried  callers  and  so  many  business 
matters  in  arrears,  that,  before  resuming  his  lectures,  he  asked  for 
some  days  rest  and  peace  in  Arminvilliers  in  Brie,  whither  M.  de 
Francheville,  his  friend  and  collaborator  on  the  Correspondent,  had 
invited  him. 

There  he,  his  wife  and  child  enjoyed  the  quiet  hospitality  of  a  feudal 
castle  still  guarded  with  moat  and  draw-bridge,  and  buried  in  woods 
which  called  up  for  him  in  some  sort  his  beloved  Middle  Ages. 

There  the  Correspondent  brought  to  his  notice  an  article  from  the 
pen  of  M.  Foisset  on  Lamartine's  Histoire  des  Girondins.  That  work 
of  the  poet  was  the  event  of  the  season.  It  was  the  almost  unreserved 
glorification  of  the  politicians  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  and  of  the 
Convention,  with  all  their  errors,  faults,  depredations  and  crimes 
acquitted  of  malice,  and  set  off  with  all  the  charm  of  poetry.  M. 
Foisset's  article  restored  the  balance  and  Ozanam  hastened  to  con 
gratulate  him  on  his  castigation  of  the  work  without  touching  the 
author  :  "  Let  me  tell  you,"  he  said,  "  that  I  have  read  many  courageous 
and  Christian  appreciations  of  the  Girondins.  Irascimini  et  nolite  pec- 
care.  It  recalls  the  beautiful  fresco  in  the  Vatican  which  depicts  the 
angels  whipping  Heliodorus,  who  had  desecrated  the  temple.  They 
seem  to  me  to  have  lent  you  their  scourges.  Yet  one  feels  that  they 
arm  a  friendly  hand  which,  while  shattering  the  idol,  seeks  to  find  and 
touch  the  Christian  heart  which  was  so  lately  beating  in  his  breast  ! 
Will  you  not  add  something  to  that  appreciation  ?  It  is,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  one  of  the  best  things  you  have  done.  Will  you  not  work 


REAPPEARANCE    IN    THE    SORBONNE  251 

it  up  into  a  volume,  which  we  should  all  wish  to  possess,  of  which  we 
shall  all  be  proud  and  which  is  now  greatly  needed  ?" 

Could  one  repudiate  in  more  formal  terms  the  historical  value  of 
the  work  or  break  with  the  historian,  while  reserving  for  the  man  that 
feeling  of  pity,  which  refused  to  despair  of  repentance  and  mercy  ? 

He  added  that  "  all  contemporary  scandals  and  apostasies  are 
extinguished  at  the  moment  by  the  brilliancy  of  the  rising  sun  of 
Pius  IX." 

It  is  in  the  full  blaze  of  that  "  rising  sun"  that  Ozanam  appeared 
before  his  students  in  the  Sorbonne  at  his  opening  lecture.  The  date 
was  the  2ist  December,  1847.  An  overcrowded  audience  gave  him  an 
enthusiastic  welcome.  He  replied  with  deep  emotion  in  the  following 
melancholy  and  tender  words  :  "  On  my  reappearance  in  this  chair, 
to  which  you  have  given  me  such  a  warm  welcome,  I  must  first  ask 
you  to  excuse  the  long  absence  caused  by  the  state  of  my  health  :  then 
the  postponement  of  my  lectures,  which  will  alas  !  long  continue  to 
show  the  effects  of  my  shattered  strength.  But  in  seeking  the  fair 
Italian  sky  I  was  less  distant  from  you  than  you  thought.  I  carried 
with  me  all  my  anxiety  for  the  success  of  a  course  of  instruction,  which 
you  had  made  very  dear  to  me,  all  the  questions  which  we  had  been 
accustomed  to  examine  together.  I  did  well  in  doing  so,  for  what 
constitutes  the  value  of  a  journey  is  the  thoughts  which  one  carries, 
the  ideals  which  one  holds,  and  which  will  have  new  light  brought  to 

bear  on  them  by  new  scenes  and  new  minds I  believe  I  have 

learned  that  lesson  in  my  eight  months  pilgrimage,  and  I  bring  you  a 
token,  as  the  pilgrims  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  wont  to  bring  back  with 
them  a  branch  cut  from  the  palm-trees  of  the  East." 

The  early  months  of  1848,  immediately  following  Ozanam's  Italian 
trip,  were  for  him  and  his,  one  of  those  rare  periods  of  untroubled 
felicity,  which  must  be  rapidly  enjoyed  for  they  are  fugitive.  He 
expresses  himself  as  follows  to  Ampere  :  "  We  enjoy  with  profound 
gratitude  this  short  period  of  happiness,  which  God  has  deigned  to  give 
us.  In  the  first  place  domestic  happiness  :  My  dear  Amelie,  who  had 
had  such  indifferent  health  so  long,  is  now  fairly  robust.  Our  darling 
Marie  is  wonderfully  well,  she  is  growing  tall  without  growing  thin  ; 
she  is  now  at  the  happiest  period  of  infancy,  being  old  enough  to  talk, 
to  understand,  to  caress  ;  too  young  yet  to  study  or  to  be  corrected. 
In  addition,  we  still  enjoy  the  memory  of  last  year's  beautiful  journey, 
the  pleasures  of  which  have  not  yet  disappeared.  We  have  also  friends 


252  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

who  are,  in  a  way,  yours  too.  It  is  not  necessary  to  tell  you  what 
consolation  is  to  be  found  in  them  in  our  good  and  bad  days.  I  am 
not  speaking  of  my  wife's  family,  nor  of  my  brothers  whom  you  do 
not  know,  but  whose  affectionate  friendship  is  very  dear  to  us." 

Then  he  comes  back  on  himself  and  his  loving  impulses  towards 
the  Giver  of  all  good  gifts  :  "  I  have  acted  very  badly  in  not  showing 
more  gratitude.  Youth  is  flying  and  I  do  not  feel  that  I  am  improving. 
In  three  months  more  I  shall  be  35  years  of  age  :  nel  mezzo  del  cammin 
di  nostra  vita.  Supposing  that  I  complete  the  journey,  I  fear  to  find 
myself  at  the  end  with  empty  hands." 

But  the  moment  was  near  at  hand  when  politics  were  about  to 
disturb  the  halcyon  days  of  the  publicist.  The  Comte  de  Monta- 
lembert  had  on  the  nth  January,  1848,  enlisted  the  support  of  the 
Chamber  of  Peers.  That  Chamber  had,  in  the  name  of  the  country, 
unanimously  supported  him  in  the  following  amendment  to  the  address 
to  the  King  : 

"  A  new  era  of  civilisation  is  opening  for  the  Italian  States.  We 
pledge  our  moral  and  material  support  to  the  magnanimous  Pontiff 
who  is  inaugurating  that  era  with  a  prudence  only  equalled  by  his 
courage.  We  support  likewise  those  sovereigns  who  follow  in  his 
footsteps  on  that  path  of  pacific  reform,  on  which  governments  and 
peoples  can  march  amicably  together."  Ozanam,  still  under  the 
influence  of  his  Roman  trip,  was  amazed  that  the  Catholic  Press  did 
not  attune  itself  to  that  enthusiasm.  "  That,  too,"  he  said,  "  after 
15  months  of  a  Pontificate  which  recalls  Gregory  II.  and  Alexander 
III.,  and  which  seems  destined  to  cement  the  alliance  between  Chris 
tianity  and  Liberty." 

He  wrote  to  M.  Foisset  complaining  that  the  Correspondant  had 
not  yet  reviewed  in  a  serious  manner  "  the  course  of  events  which 
will  perhaps  distinguish  our  century  from  all  others."  That  was  as 
much  as  to  offer  to  do  it.  He  made  it  the  subject  of  a  remarkable 
•  address  to  the  Catholic  Study  Circle,  and  subsequently  of  an  article 
which  reproduced  and  completed  the  address  under  the  title  :  Des 
Dangers  de  Rome  et  de  ses  Esperances  which  was  published  in  the 
Correspondant  of  the  loth  February,  1848. 

Much  to  my  regret,  I  can  only  present  here  a  brief  summary  of  those 
twenty-three  closely  printed  pages  of  the  Review.  They  constitute 
one  of  Ozanam 's  writings  in  which  he  displayed  great  genius,  inex 
haustible  treasures  of  learning,  ardent  convictions,  and  persuasive 


DANGERS  AND  HOPES  OF  ROME  253 

eloquence.  The  article  is  a  master-piece.  But  it  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  complete  edition  of  his  works.  When  he  proceeds  to  state  that 
the  responsibility  for  the  article  is  his  alone,  he  leaves  himself  quite 
free  to  balance  the  dangers  and  the  hopes  of  the  reforming  policy  of 
Pius  IX.  The  dangers  are  from  without  and  within  ;  from  without, 
the  supporters  of  the  Austrian  policy,  the  absolutists,  the  beaten  party  ; 
from  within,  vested  interests.  There  is  a  retrograde  party  which  is 
against  all  reform,  and  an  impatient  party  that  wants  to  reach  the 
ultimate  goal  at  once  ;  there  are  the  Zelanti,  and  the  extremists,  who 
are  still  more  advanced,  who,  acknowledging  Pius  IX.  as  King  of  all 
Italy,  alarm,  and  throw  into  opposition,  every  cabinet  in  Europe. 
Are  not  these  traitors  ? 

While  blessing  Pius  IX.,  Ozanam  defends  equally  strongly  the 
policy  of  Gregory  XVI.  He  does  full  justice  to  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
controverting  the  recent  pamphlet  of  the  Abbe  Gioberti,  II  Gesuita 
moderno,  "  which  furnished  headlines  for  incendiary  placards." 

When  Ozanam  passes  from  the  consideration  of  the  dangers  to  the 
hopes,  he  finds  many  causes  for  optimism.  They  centre  around 
Pius  IX.,  the  good  people  of  Pius  IX.,  the  friends  of  Pius  IX,  the  far- 
seeing  and  illustrious  Catholic  patriots  of  all  Italy.  He  mentions 
the  names  of  Count  Balbo,  Marquis  d'  Azeglio,  Tomasseo,  Orioli, 
Cantu,  Capponi,  Rosmini,  Ventura.  He  is  delighted  with  the  love 
of  the  Romans  for  their  prince  ;  but  he  is  not  blind  to  the  fact  that 
in  certain  cases  this  love  is  excessive,  and  may  prove  compromising. 
Some  of  these  are  Italians,  whom  he  excuses.  But  some  are  Catholics 
as  well.  He  seeks  to  reassure  himself  as  to  their  loyalty,  emphasising 
"  the  faith  of  that  people,  whose  enthusiasm  for  their  Pontiff-King 
springs  from  religion.  Now,  is  not  religion  the  guarantee  of  order  and 
loyalty,  even  as  love  finds  its  greatest  expression  in  liberty  ?" 

But  the  alpha  and  omega  of  Ozanam's  hopes  is  the  personality  of 
the  Pope  :  "  Such  is  my  strongest  hope,  and,  as  it  was  in  my  heart  that 
it  began  to  exist,  I  should  wish  to  see  it  enthroned  in  every  heart." 
But  his  mind  also  approves  it.  He  loves  Pius  IX.  through  emotion 
because  he  is  good  and  wills  good  ;  but  also  through  reason,  because  he 
is  wise  and  prudent.  He  regards  him  as  crowned  with  all  the  virtues  : 
purity,  charity,  strength.  His  humility  surprises,  his  piety  moves,  his 
speech  edifies.  He  finds  each  of  his  decisions  tempered  in  the  fire  of 
prayer,  steeped  in  tears  shed  in  the  presence  of  God.  Is  not  that  a 
pledge  of  their  lofty  inspiration  and  of  their  effectiveness  ?  "  In  a 


254  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

word,"  he  adds,  "  this  Pope  is  a  saint  such  as  God  has  not  given  to  the 
Pontificate  since  St.  Pius  V." 

Does  that  mean  that  Pius  IX.  is  to  march  on  to  the  triumph  of  his 
policy  on  a  road  strewn  with  palms  ?  "  Certainly  not,"  replies 
Ozanam  in  all  seriousness.  "  I  believe,  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
future  has  the  most  serious  difficulties  in  store  for  Pius  IX.  That  I 
believe  for  the  glory  of  the  Pope.  God  does  not  raise  up  such  men 
for  ordinary  difficulties.  Without  that,  his  task  would  be  too  easy, 
his  name  could  not  occupy  its  due  place  in  history.  His  barque  may 
have  passed  over  tranquil  waters,  let  us  look  out  for  storms  ;  only  let 
us  not  be  afraid  like  the  disciples  of  little  faith.  Christ  is  in  the  barque 
and  is  not  asleep.  He  never  watched  better  than  now." 

This  startling  article  was  to  have  a  still  more  startling  conclusion. 
Ozanam,  the  historian  of  the  barbarians'  conversion,  recalls  the  fact 
that  from  the  6th  to  the  Qth  century,  Pope  Gregory  the  Great,  and 
after  him  Pope  Gregory  the  Third,  broke  with  Byzantium  which  had 
abandoned  the  defence  of  the  Church,  and  turned  to  the  barbarians, 
who  as  children  of  the  Church,  were  to  be  her  hope  and  her  strength. 
It  seemed  to  him  that  that  former  evolution  of  Rome  in  the  direction 
of  the  barbarians  was  not  without  its  analogy,  and  that  to-day  she 
should  turn  to  the  masses  of  the  people  "  dear  to  the  Church  because 
they  are  the  multitude,  the  multitude  of  souls  who  must  be  won  and 
saved,  because  they  represent  poverty  which  God  loves,  and  work 
which  generates  energy."  He  concludes  on  that  point  with  courage  : 
"  Conquer  repugnance  and  dislike  and  turn  to  democracy,  to  the  mass 
of  the  people  to  whom  we  are  unknown.  Appeal  to  them  not  merely 
by  sermons  but  by  benefits.  Help  them,  not  with  alms  which 
humiliate,  but  with  social  and  ameliorative  measures,  which  will  free 
and  elevate  them.  Let  us  go  over  to  the  barbarians  and  follow  Pius  IX." 

Ozanam  was  misunderstood.  The  latter  appeal  caused  alarm.  The 
word  democracy  called  forth  the  dread  figure  of  the  Terror  ;  the  name 
barbarians  signified  Communists.  The  historical  allusion  was  also 
lost.  Ozanam  was  more  disappointed  than  surprised.  "  I  expected 
protests  and  remonstrances,"  he  wrote  two  days  after  the  publication 
of  the  article.  "  I  have  not  been  disappointed  in  that."  On  the  other 
hand  warm  support  of  zealous  Catholics  was  not  wanting.  The 
venerable  Abbe  Desgenettes  signified  his  approval.  Pere  Lacordaire 
shared  his  views  and  was  only  astonished  that  they  could  be  regarded 
as  advanced.  M.  Foisset  had  some  remarks  to  make,  but  in  such  a 


LET  US  GO  OVER  TO  THE  BARBARIANS     255 

friendly  tone  that  he  never  appeared  to  Ozanam  "  so  generous,  so 
kind,  and  so  insistent,  as  in  those  few  lines,  which  are  those  that  one 
keeps  by  one  and  reads  and  reads  again," — "  I  quite  expected,"  he 
continued,  "  that  my  sincerity  would  displease  many.  I  do  not  raise 
contentious  matters  with  pleasure,  and  only  have  done  so  from  a  sense 
of  duty. — You,  my  dear  friend,  were  of  my  opinion  in  October.  May 
I  not  hope  that  we  are  still  in  accord  ?  If  that  is  not  so,  it  is  I  who 
have  failed  to  express  myself  correctly,  and  that  must  be  so  since  you 
have  misunderstood  me." 

"To  leave  Byzantium  and  go  over  to  the  barbarians,"  he  explains, 
"'is  to  leave  the  camp  of  statesmen  and  Kings,  who  are  slaves  to 
selfish  and  dynastic  interests,  who  made  the  treaties  of  1815,  the 
Talleyrands,  and  the  Metternichs,  for  the  camp  of  the  people  and  the 
nation.  To  go  over  to  the  people,  is,  following  the  example  of  Pius 
IX.,  to  interest  ourselves  in  the  people,  who  have  needs  and  no  rights, 
who  justly  claim  a  larger  part  in  the  management  of  public  affairs, 
who  demand  work  and  food  ;  who  do  not  read  the  Histoire  des  Girondins, 
who  do  not  give  banquets  to  reformers,  and  who  most  certainly  do  not 
dine  at  them  ;  who  do  follow  false  guides,  but  for  want  of  better.  /  To 
go  over  to  the  people  is  to  cease  to  play  the  part  of  the  Mazzinis,  of 
the  Ochsenbeins  and  of  the  Henri  Heines,  and  to  devote  ourselves 
instead  to  the  sendee  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  in  rural  as  well  as  in 
urban  areas.  /  It  is  in  that  sense  that  to  go  over  to  the  barbarians 
signifies  to  go  over  to  the  mass  of  the  people,  but  it  is  to  with 
draw  them  from  their  barbarity,  to  make  them  good  citizens  and  good 
followers  of  Christ,  to  elevate  them  in  morality  and  truth,  to  make 
them  fit  for,  and  worthy  of  the  liberty  of  the  children  of  God."/ 

Ozanam,  in  handling  this  burning  topic  and  in  his  practical  con 
clusions,  came  down  from  the  regions  of  dogmatic  truth  to  that  open 
plain  swept  with  political  upheavals  and  storms,  of  which  it  is  written 
that  "  God  has  given  them  for  the  distraction  of  man."  It  is  not  to  -A> 
be  wondered  at  that  his  ideals  met  with  contradiction  and  misrepre 
sentation  and  that  his  heart  was  wounded  in  such  a  way  that  it  never 
recovered.  / 

Foisset  had  found  this  fault  with  Ozanam 's  article  that  "  it  had 
exaggerated  the  wrongs  and  mistakes  of  the  conservative  class,  while 
it  extenuated  those  of  the  revolutionary  party,  that  he  had  minimised 
the  causes  for  fear  and  unduly  emphasized  those  for  hope."  It  does 
seem  indeed  that  Ozanam  had  not  taken  sufficient  account  of  fears,  which 


256  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

were  to  be  too  soon  alas  !  justified  by  events.  He  did  not  see  sufficiently 
clearly,  concealed  behind  those  who  were  impatient  for  reform,  the 
action  of  secret  revolutionary  societies,  the  hand  of  Mazzini  guiding 
the  movement  which  was  to  bring  down  the  Pope  and  the  Papacy, 
sedulously  laying  the  dangerous  trap  which  has  been  called  "  the 
conspiracy  of  acclamation."  The  fact  is,  that  the  hand  which  is  now 
clearly  visible,  was  not  then  seen  by  passing  observers  such  as  the 
French  pilgrim./  He,  as  well  as  the  multitude,  was  deceived  ;  liberal 
and  honourable  France,  its  Parliament,  Montalembert,  all  who  in 
union  with  Ozanam  had  acclaimed  the  wisdom,  courage,  and  prudence 
fj-  of  the  great  Reformer,  were  deceived.  Pius  IX.  himself  was  deceived./ 
His  only  mistake  was  to  have  believed  in  the  possibility  of  good,  his 
greatest  cause  for  grief  was  the  ingratitude  of  men.  There  was  one 
thing  and  one  thing  only  wanting  to  make  his  movement  acclaimed 
as  the  wonder  of  the  age  and  that  one  thing  was,  Success.  It  was 
snatched  from  his  hands  by  the  malice  of  man.  / 

Ozanam 's  reply  to  M.  Foisset  was  dated  the  22nd  February.  The 
Revolution  burst  on  the  24th,  overturning  Louis-Phillipe's  throne 
and  proclaiming  the  Republic. 

It  was  at  a  period  long  prior  to  that,  in  the  year  1834,  that  Ozanam, 
then  aged  twenty-one,  formulated  his  political  programme  in  the 
following  terms  :  "  I  do  not  repudiate  any  form  of  government ;  I 
regard  them  as  different  instruments  to  make  men  better  and  happier. 
"  I  believe  in  authority  as  a  means,  in  liberty  as  a  means,  in  charity 
as  an  end./ 

"  Two  kinds  of  governments  are  based  on  two  diametrically  opposite 
principles.  One  is  the  exploitation  of  all  for  the  advantage  of  one  : 
that  is  the  monarchy  of  Nero,  which  I  detest.  The  other  is  the 
sacrifice  of  one  for  the  benefit  of  all :  that  is  the  monarchy  of  St.  Louis, 
which  1  revere  and  love.  One  is  the  exploitation  of  all  for  the  benefit 
of  a  faction  :  that  is  the  Republic  of  the  Terror,  which  I  utterly 
condemn.  The  other  is  the  sacrifice  of  each  for  the  advantage  of 
all :  that  is  the  Christian  republic  of  the  primitive  Church  of 
Jerusalem.  It  is  also  perhaps  that  of  the  end  of  all  time,  the  last  and 
the  highest  state  to  which  humanity  can  aspire."/ 

Young  Ozanam  continued  :  "  Every  form  of  government  seems  good 
in  that  it  represents  the  divine  principle  of  authority :  it  is  in  that 
sense  that  I  understand  the  omnis  potestas  a  Deo  of  St.  Paul.  But  I 
do  hold  that  with  power  there  must  also  be  room  for  the  sacred 


THE   SOCIAL  QUESTION  257 

principle  of  liberty.  This  must  be  upheld  vigorously,  and  a  courageous 
voice  must  be  heard  warning  any  power  that  would  exploit,  instead 
of  serving  it." 

"  Opposition  is  useful  and  desirable,  not  insurrection.  Obedience 
should  be  active,  resistance  passive  ;  the  Prisons  of  Silvo  Pellico  and 
not  the  Paroles  d'un  Croyant." 

Many  of  those  political  aphorisms  are  no  doubt  characteristic  of  a 
young  man,  but  certainly  not  of  a  revolutionary. 

Beside  the  question  of  the  form  of  Government  there  was  another  W 
which  was  more  closely  bound  up  with  religion.  Ozanam  had  written 
as  follows  :  "  The  question  which  is  agitating  the  world  to-day  is  neither 
one  of  the  form  of  governemnt  nor  of  persons  ;  it  is  a  social  question. 
It  is  a  struggle  between  those  who  have  nothing  and  those  who  have 
too  much  ;  it  is  the  violent  clash  of  opulence  and  poverty,  which  is 
shaking  the  ground  under  our  feet.  Our  duty  as  Christians  is  to  throw 
ourselves  between  those  two  camps,  in  order  to  help  to  accomplish 
through  Charity  what  Justice  alone  cannot  do."  That  is  exactly 
what  he  desired  to  do  more  than  ever  in  February,  1848.  / 

On  the  day  of  the  bloody  insurrection  much  honour  was  reflected  on 
the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  by  the  brave  action  of  one  of  its 
members.  His  name,  though  worthy  to  go  down  to  history,  remains 
hidden  in  the  obscurity  so  dear  to  the  spirit  of  the  Society.  L'Ami 
de  la  Religion  reports  as  follows  on  the  29th  February,  1848  :  "  On 
Thursday  last,  24th  inst.,  at  the  moment  when  the  people  had  just 
invaded  the  Tuileries  and  were  engaged  in  flinging  the  furniture 
and  tapestry  through  the  windows,  a  young  man,  a  member  of  a 
Conference  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  hastened  to  the  Chapel,  fearing 
lest  it  should  be  despoiled,  and  desirous  of  preventing  such  profanation. 
The  Chapel,  where  Mass  had  been  said  that  morning,  had  been  already 
invaded  ;  vestments  were  scattered  about  the  sacristy,  but  the  altar 
had  not  been  touched.  The  religious  youth  begged  some  National 
guards  to  help  him  to  carry  away  the  sacred  vessels  and  the  crucifix. 
They  replied  that  they  were  of  one  mind  with  him,  but  they  thought 
it  necessary  that  they  should  have  with  them  a  cadet  from  the  Poly 
technic.  Two  cadets  came  forward.  They  took  the  sacred  vessels 
and  the  crucifix,  and  left  by  the  Court  of  the  Tuileries  and  the  Car 
rousel  for  the  Church  of  St.  Roch." 

"  In  the  court-yard  cries  were  raised  against  the  men  carrying  off 
those  precious  treasures.    Then  he  who  was  bearing  the  crucifix, 


258  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

raised  it  aloft  saying  :  "Do  you  wish  to  be  regenerated  ?  Well  ! 
remember,  that  can  only  come  through  Christ."  "  Yes,  yes,"  replied 
many  voices,  "  He  is  the  Master  of  us  all."  Heads  were  uncovered 
to  the  shout  of  "  Christ  for  ever."  The  crucifix  and  a  chalice  without 
the  paten  were  borne,  so  to  speak,  in  procession  to  St.  Roch's,  where 
they  were  received  by  the  Cure.  / 

"  This  group  of  people  first  asked  the  priest's  blessing.  He  said  a 
few  words  to  them  which  were  received  with  emotion  and  respect. 
"  We  love  God,"  they  cried,  "  we  wish  for  religion  and  desire  to  see 
it  honoured.  Long  live  Liberty  !  Long  live  the  religion  of  Pius  IX." 
Before  withdrawing  they  knelt  a  second  time  to  receive  the  Cure's 
blessing;.* 

The  February  Revolution  assumed  disproportionate  dimensions  in 
Ozanam's  eyes.  Did  he  not  write  as  follows  ?  : — "  In  the  events  which 
are  now  taking  place  in  Rome,  in  Paris,  and  in  Vienna,  do  we  not  hear 
a  voice  calling  :  Ecce  facio  ceolos  novos  et  terram  novam.  Since  the 
fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  the  world  has  not  seen  a  revolution  like 
unto  this.  I  still  believe,  as  I  did,  in  the  invasion  of  the  barbarians ; 
but  of  barbarians  such  as  the  Franks  of  Clovis.  I  believe  in  the 
emancipation  of  down-trodden  nationalists,  and  I  admire  more  than 
ever  the  mission  of  Pius  IX.,  which  is  so  opportune  for  Italy  and  for  the 
world.  I  do  not  hide  from  myself  the  dangers  of  the  times  nor  the 
hardness  of  hearts  ;  I  expect  to  see  much  hardship,  disorder  and 
pillage.  I  believe  even  that  we  may  be  crushed,  but  it  will  be  under 
the  Juggernaut  of  Christianity." 

Ozanam  had  not  been  wanting  in  his  duty  in  donning  the  uniform 
of  the  National  Guard,  and  taking  his  place  in  the  post  of  danger  in 
common  with  all  good  citizens.  But  that  was  not  really  his  place. 
M.  Foisset,  and  many  others,  cherished  the  hope  of  seeing  him  become 
In  Parliament  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  new  order  of  things.  Ozanam 
replied  in  the  following  modest  terms  on  the  22nd  March,  1848  : 
"  You  are  quite  wrong,  my  dear  friend,  in  thinking  that  I  am  one  of 
the  men  of  the  moment.  I  have  never  been  so  keenly  conscious  of 


*It  was  to  that  event  that  Pere  Lacordaire  alluded  in  his  Conference  on  the 
27th  February  when  he  said  :  "  Thanks  be  to  God,  we  believe  in  Him.  If  I 
doubted  our  faith,  the  very  gates  of  this  Cathedral  would  open  of  themselves 
and  the  people  would  only  need  one  glance  to  confound  me.  For,  in  the 
very  moment  of  their  intoxication  with  victory,  did  they  not  with  their  own 
hands  bear  before  them  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God  made  Man,  as  if  hoping  to 
associate  Him  with  their  triumph  ?"  (applause). 


A  CANDIDATE  FOR  LYONS  259 

my  weakness  and  my  ineffectiveness.  I  am  less  qualified  than  almost 
any  other,  to  deal  with  those  questions  which  are  agitating  men's 
minds  !  I  mean  questions  of  labour,  wages,  commerce,  administra 
tion,  which  are  more  important  than  any  political  controversy 

I  am  not  a  man  of  action,  nor  am  I  suited  for  Parliament  or  for  the 
platform.  If  I  can  do  anything  however  small,  it  is  in  my  University 
chair  or  perhaps  in  the  seclusion  of  my  library,  in  extracting  from 
Philosophy  and  from  History  thoughts  which  I  can  put  before  young 
men,  before  troubled  and  vacillating  minds,  in  order  to  steady,  to 
encourage,  to  rally  them  together,  in  the  confusion  of  the  present  and 
the  terrible  uncertainty  of  the  future." 

Ozanam's  name  appeared  on  many  lists  of  proposed  candidates. 
He  declined  the  honour.  He  was  convinced  that,  at  the  moment, 
Catholics  were  not  numerous  enough  to  win  out  alone.  He  wrote  as 
follows  :  "  The  best  course  for  us  to  adopt  is  to  support  Republican  / ; 
candidates,  who  share  our  faith  and  who  will  give  satisfactory 
guarantees  for  our  liberty." 

Ozanam  was  in  the  act  of  closing  that  letter  when  a  most  insistent 
appeal  reached  him  from  a  Catholic  committee  in  Lyons,  to  allow  his 
name  to  go  forward  as  Deputy  for  that  city.  A  division  of  parties 
offered  a  good  chance  of  getting  a  sufficient  number  of  votes  to  return 
him.  Taking  up  again  his  letter  to  Foisset  he  submits  this  case  to 
his  judgment :  "In  addition  to  the  aforesaid  objections  I  am  not 
robust  enough  to  face  the  storms  of  the  National  Assembly.  My 
style  of  speaking  does  not  suit  the  Chamber.  My  friends  here  are 
divided.  Several  advise  me  to  attend  the  next  Assembly.  What  is 
your  opinion  ?  If  you  reply  by  return  your  letter  can  reach  me  before 
I  write  to  Lyons,  as  I  shall  not  write  until  Saturday.  I  am  seriously 
perplexed  as  to  what  to  do." 

We  have  not  M.  Foisset's  reply.  But  Ozanam  yielded  and  allowed 
his  name  to  go  forward.  It  was  at  the  eleventh  hour,  barely  four  days 
before  the  closing  of  the  nominations.  He  had  not  even  time  to  ad 
dress  his  constituents  in  Lyons.  He  wrote  to  his  brother,  the  priest : 
"  My  first  inclination  was  to  refuse  a  trust,  which  is  ill-suited  to  my 
habits  and  studies.  However,  having  considered  the  matter  in  the 
presence  of  God,  and  taken  counsel  with  those  who  have  claims  on  my 
conscience  and  my  affection,  having  weighed  together  the  advice 
of  my  family  and  of  my  friends,  I  have  decided  to  make  the  sacrifice. 
I  could  not  refuse  it  without  failing  in  honour,  in  patriotism,  and  in 


260  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Christian  devotion.  I  am  to  stand  for  Lyons.  I  hope  that  I  shall 
get  only  an  average  number  of  votes,  and  that  Providence  may  spare 
me  the  dangerous  distinction  of  being  a  representative  of  the  people. 
But  if  that  be  my  destiny,  I  hope  that  I  shall  get  sufficient  courage  to 
fulfil  the  designs  of  Providence.  I  know  the  risk  I  am  running ;  at 
the  worst  it  is  that  of  life.  God  has  made  life  very  hard  for  us  during 
the  last  two  months  in  order  to  teach  us  not  to  cling  to  it  more  than 
is  good  for  our  amendment  and  salvation.  As  to  fortune,  it  would  be 
very  selfish  to  consider  that  at  a  time  when  it  is  a  question  of  saving 
or  losing  France." 

"  That  is  then,  my  dear  brother,  yet  another  reason  for  praying 
very  specially  for  me.  Please  offer  up  your  Easter  Mass,  if  it  is  free, 
for  that  intention,  as  it  will  be  on  that  day  that  my  fate  will  issue  from 
the  ballot  box." 

The  lateness  of  the  nomination  and  the  absence  of  the  candidate 
did  not  prevent  16,000  electors  from  voting  for  him.  It  was  not  a 
sufficient  number  for  election.  Ozanam  wrote  to  the  same  brother, 
more  than  consoled  in  advance  for  his  defeat :  "  It  is  fairly  clear,  from 
the  number  of  votes  cast  for  me,  that,  if  I  had  been  nominated  sooner, 
and  if  I  had  been  able  to  canvass  personally,  I  should  have  succeeded. 
But  God,  no  doubt,  wished  that  I  should  be  spared  that  dreadful 
responsibility.  He  preferred  to  send  me  back  to  research  work  for 
which  I  have  a  taste." 

Ozanam,  now  personally  disinterested,  worked  and  actively  can 
vassed  the  young  men  on  behalf  of  the  candidatures  of  M.  de  Melun, 
of  M.  Thayer,  and  especially  of  Pere  Lacordaire  :  "  The  Reverend 
Father  preserves  his  own  admirable  serenity,"  he  wrote.  "  I  have 
never  seen  him  more  indifferent,  more  inclined  to  serve  God's  interests, 
less  disposed  to  trouble  himself  with  human  passions.  The  Archbishop 
of  Paris  has  given  striking  testimony  of  his  confidence  by  making  him 
Vicar  General  of  the  Arch-Diocese." 

As  a  representative  of  the  people  in  the  Chamber,  Ozanam  would 
have  been  able  to  bring  forward  a  law  regulating  economic  and 
charitable  institutions.  There  remained  open  to  him  as  a  citizen 
the  way  of  petition.  Behold  him  drawing  up  an  appeal  for  Sunday 
Rest.  "  It  will  be  handed  round  and  posted  on  the  walls  :  it  may  be 
the  means  of  inducing  the  work-people  to  petition  for  it."  He  sum 
moned  "  a  meeting  of  Professors  to  consider  the  foundation  of  extension 
lectures  and  night  schools  for  those  poor  people.  The  Carmelites  will 


THE   WORKING   CLASSES  261 

help,  and  the  Archbishop  will  give  a  hall."  He  wrote  to  his  brother 
on  the  I5th  March  :  "  My  dear  brother,  you  know  how  happy  I  am  to 
share  our  predilections  for  the  working  classes,  who  are  poor  and 
are  strangers  to  the  refinement  and  the  good  taste  of  those  who  are 
called  the  better  classes.  If  more  Catholics,  and  above  all,  more 
clergy  had  concerned  themselves  with  the  working  classes  for  the 
last  ten  years,  we  should  feel  more  certain  of  the  future.  All  our 
hopes  rest  on  the  very  little  which  has  been  done  for  them  here  in 
Paris/' 

Ozanam  recommended  that  same  brother,  who  was  then  engaged 
in  giving  a  Mission  in  Lille,  to  "  interest  himself  now  more  than  ever 
in  servants  as  well  as  in  masters,  in  the  working  classes  as  well  as  in 
the  employers.  Therein  lies  the  only  path  of  salvation  for  the  future 
Church  of  France.  Priests  must  give  up  their  bourgeois  parishes  and 
their  little  chosen  circle,  lost  in  the  midst  of  a  population  whom  they 
do  not  know.  They  must  concern  themselves  not  merely  with  the 
poverty-stricken,  but  with  the  working  classes  who  do  not  need  alms. 
These  will  be  won  by  special  sermons,  by  charitable  associations,  and 
by  sympathy,  which  will  touch  them  more  than  is  generally  believed." 
He  writes  to  the  same  brother  on  the  selections  for  the  North  as 
follows  :  "  Instead  of  forming  an  alliance  with  the  beaten  middle 
classes,  it  would  have  been  better  to  have  sided  with  the  people,  who 
are  the  true  ally  of  the  Church.  They  are  poor  as  she  is,  devoted  as  she 
is,  and  blessed  as  she  is  with  the  benediction  of  the  Saviour.  I  have 
just  heard  of  an  excellent  selection  at  Valenciennes,  my  friend  Wallon, 
acting  at  present  for  Professor  Guizot  in  the  Faculty.  He  is  a  sincere 
Republican  and  a  sound  Catholic,  a  member  of  a  Conference  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul,  and  a  very  zealous  worker  for  the  poor." 

When  Ozanam  resumed  his  lectures  in  the  Sorbonne  immediately 
after  February,  he  had  only  to  appear  before  his  students  such  as  he 
had  always  been:  "  In  appearing  again  before  you  after  the  great 
events  which  have  taken  place,  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  say  that, 
looking  back  over  six  years  of  lectures,  I  do  not  recollect  one  word 
which  I  shall  have  to  unsay  to-day.  You  have  always  known  me  to  be 
passionately  in  favour  of  liberty,  in  favour  of  the  legitimate  triumphs 
of  the  people,  in  favour  of  reforms  which  elevate,  and  in  favour  of 
those  dogmas  of  equality  and  fraternity  which  are  but  the  introduction 
of  the  Gospel  into  the  temporal  domain.  I  return  to  our  University 
forthwith  to  give  henceforward,  as  far  as  in  me  lies,  an  example  of 


262  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

confidence  in  good  order,  which  will  be  better  upheld  by  the  unity  of 
citizens,  than  by  the  display  of  legal  fictions." 

It  was  thus  that  he  and  others  founded  in  France  the  Parti  de  la 
confiance,  which  claimed  a  majority  at  the  moment.  Ozanam  wrote  : 
"The  first  duty  for  Catholics  is  not  to  fear  themselves  ;  the  second, 
not  to  frighten  others.  It  is  rather  to  reassure  those  who  are 
uneasy  at  the  political  and  financial  crisis  through  which  we  are  pass 
ing,  by  pointing  out  that  Providence  is  at  hand.  Let  us  not  be  too 
solicitous  for  the  morrow,  'What  shall  we  eat  and  wherewith  shall 
we  be  clothed?'  Be  brave,  seek  first  the  justice  of  God,  the  good 
of  the  nation  and  all  else  will  be  added  thereunto." 

Such  was  his  point  of  view  on  the  I2th  April,  when  he  informed  M. 
Foisset  that  he  and  some  friends  wished  to  found  a  new  journal  for 
new  times  and  new  needs.  "  That  is  the  part  which  I  shall  play  in 
political  life,  from  which  no  one  can  stand  aloof.  It  will  be  narrowed 
down  to  the  little  which  I  shall  do  for  the  The  New  Era,  which  will 
appear  without  fail  on  the  I5th  April  next."  On  that  date  'Ozanam 
was  about  to  enter,  all  unknowingly,  a  real  battlefield. 


263 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
THE    JUNE    INSURRECTION. 
The  New  Era.-(L*ERE  NOUVELLE).— THE  DAYS  OF  BLOOD. — ARCHBISHOP 

AFFRE. 

1848. 

P&re  Lacordaire  relates  in  his  Memoirs  that  his  mind  was  in  a  state 
of  great  perplexity  after  the  February  Revolution.  He  was  divided 
between  a  Limited  Monarchy — which  he  had  always  preferred — 
and  a  Republic  which  he  did  not  believe  would  be  stable  in  France, 
but  which  in  fact  now  existed.  He  asked  himself,  whether  it  would 
not  be  wiser  to  support  it  openly  in  the  interest  of  institutions,  the  non 
existence  of  which  had  brought  about  the  ruin  of  two  thrones  and  two 
dynasties. 

"  Now,"  he  writes,  "  at  the  very  moment  that  I  was  thus  deliberat 
ing,  the  Abbe  Maret  and  Frederick  Ozanam  knocked  at  my  door.  They 
came  to  inform  me  that  uneasiness  and  uncertainty  reigned  in  the 
minds  of  Catholics,  that  such  confusion  and  hesitancy  would  easily 
throw  the  new  regime  into  hostility,  and  snatch  from  us  the  chances 
of  gaining  that  liberty  which  the  previous  government  had  persistently 
refused  :  '  The  Republic/  they  added,  '  is  well  disposed  in  our  favour. 
We  cannot  reproach  it  with  any  of  the  acts  of  irreligion  and  barbarity 
which  signalised  the  Revolution  of  1830.  It  believes  and  hopes  in 
us.  Are  we  to  disappoint  it  ?  What  other  course  can  we  adopt  ? 
To  what  other  party  can  we  attach  ourselves  ?  What  will  there  be 
before  us  but  ruin  ?  What  is  a  Republic  if  it  be  not  the  natural 
government  of  society,  when  its  sheet-anchor  and  its  traditions  have 
been  lost?'" 

"  My  two  visitors  went  much  further  than  I.  While  I  saw  in  the 
Republic  but  a  necessity  of  the  moment,  which  it  would  be  necessary 
to  accept  in  all  sincerity  until  men's  minds  had  been  naturally 


264  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

diverted  into  a  new  channel,  they  had  loftier  and  more  general  views 
upon  the  democratic  future  of  European  society.  That  created  such 
a  gap  between  us  that  co-operation  under  a  common  standard  seemed 
impossible.  But  danger  was  imminent  .  .  .  Implored  to  decide  by 
those  voices  of  friends,  I  yielded  to  the  tyranny  of  events  ;  and  although 
it  was  repugnant  to  me  to  become  a  journalist,  I  declared  openly  on 
the  side  of  those  who  offered  me  a  flag — in  which  religion,  Republic, 
and  liberty  were  interwoven " 

The  prospectus  of  the  The  New  Era  appeared  on  the  1st  March.  It 
declared  that  the  journal  would  not  belong  to  any  party,  that  it  would 
hold  itself  independent  of  all,  in  order  to  be  in  a  position  to  speak  the 
truth  to  all  with  impartiality,  but  always  with  moderation  and  charity. 

On  the  day  following  the  appearance  of  the  journal,  the  i6th  April, 
the  editor  received  a  note  from  His  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Paris, 
Monsignor  Affre,  in  which  he  did  more  than  merely  give  encouragement ; 
he  made  the  journal  almost  his  own,  guaranteed  its  prudence,  and 
congratulated  it  on  performing  a  great  civic  and  religious  duty.  He 
wrote  as  follows  :  "  The  personal  knowledge  which  I  have  of  the 
principles  of  the  founders  of  your  paper,  constrains  me  forthwith  to 
give  you  a  measure  of  support  which  I  have  withheld  from  papers 
published  during  the  previous  government.  Not  only  am  I  com 
pletely  re- assured  against  the  danger  of  any  attempt  to  resuscitate 
the  Avenir,  but  I  know  that  you  will  wage  war  against  all  that  was 
reprehensible  in  its  theories.  Catholics  will  not,  I  am  sure,  be  slow 
to  recognise  this.  But  what  they  will  appreciate  above  all  in  your 
paper  is  the  honesty,  frankness,  and  generosity  which,  taking  what 
is  best  from  all  sides,  has  one  aim  and  one  aim  only,  the  salvation  of 
religion  and  of  fatherland." 

"  What  will  please  them  and  will  win  new  readers  for  you  is  the 
simple  devotion  which,  instead  of  calculating  the  chances  of  an  un 
certain  future,  discharges  with  steadiness  and  with  intelligence  the 
duty  of  the  present ;  a  devotion  which  threats  will  not  deter,  which 
grows  in  intensity  with  danger,  which  is  willing  to  sacrifice  rest,  fortune 
and  glory  itself,  if  need  be,  for  the  good  of  the  country.  We  all  count 
upon  you  for  this  spirit,  for  it  is  Faith  which  sustains  and  illumines 
it,  because  it  sees  the  all-powerful  intervention  of  God  in  those  mighty 
revolutions  which  change  the  face  of  the  earth." 

"  As  you  have  noticed,  that  intervention  has  never  been  so  clearly 
demonstrated  as  in  the  new  political  state  of  France.  Let  us  trust 


REPUDIATION    OF    DIVORCE  265 

in  God  rather  than  in  ourselves.  We  shall  find  true  courage  in  that 
sentiment.  Yours  very  sincerely,  Denis,  Archbishop  of  Paris." 

Thus  conscious  of  being  on  the  right  path  and  henceforward  leaning 
on  the  arm  of  his  Archbishop,  Ozanam  threw  himself  into  this  new  work 
with  all  his  strength,  as  he  did  into  every  work  which  was  marked  out 
for  him  by  the  will  of  God. 

Only  three  weeks  later,  on  the  7th  May,  he  was  able  to  inform  his 
brother  that  he  was  corresponding  through  his  journal  with  at  least 
600  priests.  They  were  the  first  subscribers  to  The  New  Era.  He  adds 
"  That  work,  and  my  course  of  lectures,  which  I  have  resumed,  use  up 
all  my  strength,  which  is  not  as  robust  as  I  should  wish,  if  I  am  to 
judge  by  the  extreme  weakness  which  my  military  exploits  in  the 
National  Guard  caused  me."  Mounting  guard  at  the  gates  of  the 
Legislative  Assembly  had  almost  worn  him  out  with  fatigue  and  heat. 
"  I  had  to  protect  the  place  as  I  could  not  enlighten  it." 

One  of  his  first  serious  contributions  to  The  New  Era  was  a  series 
of  articles  dealing  with  a  Bill  to  establish  Divorce,  which  a  Minister 
of  Justice,  Cremieux,  a  Jew,  had  introduced  in  the  Assembly,  and 
which  constituted  an  attack  on  the  family  and  society. 

The  Press  of  the  day  does  not  give  any  adequate  idea  whatever 
of  the  amount  and  accuracy  of  knowledge  displayed  in  that  thesis, 
which  pulsated  with  eloquence  and  with  the  emotion  caused  by  a 
great  and  imminent  danger.  M.  Cremieux  had  brought  forward  the 
Bill  in  the  name  of  liberalism  and  democracy.  Ozanam  repudiates 
"  that  time-worn  liberalism,  which  was  always  distinguished  by  hatred 
for  religion  rather  than  by  love  of  liberty,  and  which  was  bent  upon 
the  ruin  of  noble  institutions,  even  as  the  Philosophy  of  the  iSth  cen 
tury  was  bent  upon  the  destruction  of  belief  .  .  ." 

He  repudiates  it  in  the  name  of  the  young  Republic  :  "  The  recent 
Revolution  burst  forth  against  the  corruption  of  a  society  which  had 
not  even  the  courage  to  hate  evil.  It  can  only  achieve  its  aim  by  the 
creation  of  a  better  state  of  society,  which  will  be  built  up  by  work, 
by  self-denial,  by  all  that  ordinarily  develops  conscience  and  character. 
Such  a  society  is  poor  and  hardworking,  and  needs  only  to  be  chaste 
to  have  the  foundations  of  national  strength.  It  must  have  severe 
laws,  it  must  grow  on  manly  habits  to  obtain  what  Providence  has 
promised.  Providence  has  certainly  not  allowed  such  great  events 
to  happen  to  produce  a  common-place  result." 

There  were  still  more  terrible  things  to  happen  in  those  days.     The 


266  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

bloody  days  of  the  23rd,  24th  and  25th  June,  1848,  were  at  hand. 
Ozanam  was  to  be  engaged  in  the  laborious  duties  of  a  National  Guard, 
which  tried  his  physical  strength.  God  was  about  to  call  on  His 
soldier  for  another  service  in  the  cause  of  peace  and  sublime  devotion. 
Ozanam  was  not  called  upon  to  fire.  He  wrote  to  his  brother 
immediately  after  those  days  of  terror  :  "  My  company  was  stationed 
nearly  all  the  time  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Garanciere  and  the  Rue 
Palatine,  later,  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Madame  and  the  Rue  de 
Fleurus.  There  were  excursions  and  alarms,  occasional  shots  close 
by,  and  bad  patrols  on  the  boulevards.  But  thank  God,  we  did  not 
fire  a  cartridge." 

He  was  ready  for  every  emergency  :  "  My  conscience  was  easy, 
and  I  should  not  have  recoiled  from  any  danger.  But  I  am  free  to 
admit  that  it  is  a  terrible  moment  when  a  man  bids,  what  he  believes 
to  be,  his  last  farewell  to  his  wife  and  child." 

But  what  then  had  been  what  I  have  called  the  sublime  idea  of  the 
soldier  of  God  ?  I  am  taking  the  account  from  the  historian  of  La 
seconde  Republique  :  "Ozanam  was  on  active  service  with  M.  Cornudet 
and  M.  Bailly  on  Sunday,  25th  June,  at  a  military  post  at  the  Rue 
Madame  ;  they  were  discussing  sinister  rumours  which  pointed  to  the 
prolongation  of  the  struggle.  The  idea  of  inviting  His  Grace  the 
Archbishop  to  intervene,  suddenly  occurred  to  their  troubled  minds. 
It  seemed  to  them  that  it  would  be  a  great  triumph  for  the  Church, 
if  His  Grace  could  mediate  between  the  parties  to  this  terrible  Civil 
War.  They  went  at  once  to  talk  it  over  with  the  Abbe  Buquet,  Vicar- 
General.  He  approved  of  their  project  and  have  them  a  letter  in  a 
large  envelope  which  would  procure  a  safe  conduct  for  them  through 
the  barricades  to  the  Archbishop. 

"  His  Grace,  Dr.  Afire,  received  them  as  graciously  as  usual,  and 
after  having  heard  their  project  said,  with  perfect  simplicity  :  '  I 
have  been  obsessed  with  that  idea  since  yesterday,  but  how  can  I 
bring  it  about  ?  How  can  I  reach  the  insurgents  ?  Would  General 
Cavaignac  permit  such  a  step  to  be  taken  ?  Where  can  he  be  found  ? " 

"  In  answer  to  all  his  objections  the  visitors  assured  him  that  he 
would  be  received  on  all  sides  with  veneration  :  '  You  are  right,'  he 
said  with  an  air  of  submission.  '  Very  well  then,  I  shall  go.  I  shall 
put  on  my  cassock  so  as  not  to  attract  attention  and  you  will  point 
out  the  way  to  me.' 

'*As  he  was  about  to   get  ready,  a  priest  entered  and  related   to 


DEATH  OF  THE   ARCHBISHOP  267 

him  in  terror  some  awful  incidents  of  the  insurrection,  which  he  had 
witnessed  a  few  moments  previously.  His  Grace  heard  him  with 
emotion  and  continued  his  preparations." 

"  He  was  ready  in  a  few  minutes.  The  young  men  insisted  res 
pectfully  that  he  should  put  on  his  purple  soutane  and  wear  his  pec 
toral  cross  :  '  I  shall  do  as  you  wish/  he  said  with  the  same  simplicity. 
Before  setting  out  for  the  scene  of  the  struggle,  he  went  first  with  them 
to  the  Provost-Marshal  to  obtain  permission." 

"All  cars  were  stopped  and  they  had  to  walk.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  do  justice  to  the  veneration  and  enthusiasm  with  which  His  Grace 
was  received.  It  was  a  triumphant  march  from  the  Ile-St. -Louis 
to  the  National  Assembly.  The  troops,  the  National  Guard,  the  mov 
able  columns,  stood  to  arms  and  gave  a  general  salute.  Men  raised 
their  hats  and  women  and  children  bowed.  It  was  a  most  impressive 
sight." 

"General  Cavaignac  received  the  Archbishop  with  respect  and  ad 
miration.  The  General  appreciated  heroism  if  not  Christianity.  He 
first  represented  to  him  the  danger  he  was  about  to  run.  He  informed 
him  that  General  Brea,  sent  forward  to  parley,  had  been  taken  a  prisoner 
by  the  insurgents.  He  begged  him  not  to  expose  himself  to  such 
danger.  But  His  Grace's  resolution  was  unshakeable,  and  the  by 
standers  still  remember  the  simplicity  with  which  he  said,  '  I  shall 

go.' 

"  The  General  praised  his  courage.  He  had  drawn  up  with  M.  Senard 
a  few  hours  before  a  proclamation,  calling  on  workmen  to  lay  down 
arms  and  promising  a  full  indemnity.  He  placed  a  copy  in  the  Arch 
bishop's  hands  with  the  intention  of  facilitating  his  undertaking." 

"The  Archbishop  returned  to  his  house,  took  a  repast,  and  made 
his  confession  as  if  going  to  death.  He  then  took  the  road  to  the 
insurgent  quarters.  M.  Ozanam,  M.  Cornudet  and  M.  Bailly  begged 
for  the  honour  of  accompanying  him.  Solicitous  that  none  should 
be  exposed  to  danger  for  his  sake,  he  refused,  saying  that  their  uniform 
of  the  National  Guard  would  make  his  mission  more  difficult  by  pre 
senting  the  appearance  of  an  escort.  He  would  go  with  his  two  priests 
and  his  servant-man.  They  left  him,  in  obedience,  but  in  grief." 

We  shall  abridge  the  rest  of  the  account,  which  does  not  directly 
concern  us  here. 

"It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  emotion  which  prevailed  at  the 
sight  of  the  Archbishop  on  foot,  wending  his  way  to  the  Place  de  la 


268  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Bastille.  The  guards  presented  their  arms  to  be  blessed  :  officers 
begged  him  not  to  go  to  his  death  :  thinking  that  he  was  going  to  the 
ambulances,  women  brought  him  linen  and  lint  for  the  wounded. 
He  replied  to  those  who  emphasized  his  danger,  '  My  life  is  a  little 
thing.'  Moving  forward,  he  quoted  for  his  Vicar-Generals,  Very  Rev. 
Peres  Jacquemet  and  Ravinet  the  words  of  the  Gospel  :  '  The  good 
shepherd  giveth  his  life  for  his  flock  !'  His  countenance  seemed 
illumined  !  " 

"At  the  Place  de  1' Arsenal  he  stopped  for  a  few  brief  moments  to 
chat  with  and  bless  the  poor  wounded  soldiers.  It  was  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening  and  the  fight  was  being  waged  savagely.  When  he 
had  arrived  at  the  Place  de  la  Bastille,  the  prelate  spoke  to  the  colonel 
in  command  and  asked  to  have  the  'Cease  Fire  '  sounded  :  '  I  shall 
go  forward  alone/  he  said,  '  to  those  unfortunate  men  who  have  been 
misled.'  The  soldiers'  fire  ceased,  that  of  the  insurgents  first  slackened 
then  ceased.  The  Archbishop  moved  out  into  the  Square.  A  young 
member  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  named  Brechemin, 
went  in  advance.  He  raised  his  white  handkerchief  high  on  the  branch 
of  a  tree,  and  thus  reached  the  first  barricade.  Not  awaiting  the 
return  of  the  young  man,  the  heroic  prelate  passed  through  a  shop 
at  the  corner  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine,  which  had  a  door  opening 
on  each  street,  and  thus  reached  the  large  barricade  which  closed  up 
that  area.  A  number  of  insurgents  came  down  on  the  Square,  several 
soldiers  closed  in  also,  eager  to  fraternise.  The  Archbishop,  reading 
from  the  promise  of  pardon,  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  was  already 
beginning  to  move  their  hearts  to  reconciliation,  when  a  single  shot 
went  off.  A  frightful  discharge  followed  immediately.  The  Archbishop 
fell  mortally  wounded  into  a  workman's  arms,  saying  :  'Friend,  I  am 
wounded.'  The  insurgents  themselves,  startled  at  the  fall  of  that  great 
victim,  carried  him  to  the  house  of  the  Cure  of  Quinze-Vingts.  His 
Grace  the  Archbishop  died  the  next  day,  his  last  words  being,  '  May 
my  blood  be  the  last  to  be  shed.'  ' 

The  event,  which  had  taken  place  early  in  the  night,  was  not  generally 
known  in  the  city  until  the  following  morning,  owing  to  the  state  of 
general  disorder.  The  news  was  received  universally  with  feelings 
of  horror  and  grief.  Ozanam  and  his  two  friends,  M.  Cornudet  and 
M.  Bailly  felt  consternation  at  the  event,  mingled  at  first  with  bitter 
remorse.  But  when  they  recalled  to  mind  that  the  inspiration  of 
self-sacrifice  had  come  to  the  Archbishop  before  their  arrival,  and  that 


DEATH   OF   M.  SOULACROIX  269 

he  would  probably  have  carried  it  out  even  if  they  had  not  come  : 
that  one  fruit  of  the  sacrifice  had  been  the  sudden  end  of  the  insurrec 
tion,  and  that  his  blood  had  been  the  last  shed  :  and,  lastly,  when  they 
witnessed  the  honour  which  redounded  not  only  to  the  Archbishop, 
but  to  the  clergy  and  the  whole  Church  :  and,  above  all,  the  pardon 
and  the  favours  which  the  voluntary  self-sacrifice  of  the  Shepherd 
was  to  bring  down  on  the  entire  flock,  those  noble  counsellors  could 
well  satisfy  themselves,  that  they  had  been,  in  that  matter,  but  the 
unconscious  instruments  of  a  merciful  Providence. 

That  is,  indeed,  the  sentiment  which  shines  through  the  following 
few  lines,  written  by  Ozanam  on  the  3rd  July  :  "  It  was  not  a  riot 
but  a  civil  war  which  was  waged,  the  most  difficult  to  end  of  all  wars, 
for,  smouldering,  it  waits  for  an  opportunity  to  burst  out  again.  I 
have  no  hope  save  in  God  and  in  the  merits  of  the  holy  Archbishop. 
By  a  chain  of  circumstances  which  it  would  take  too  long  to  explain, 
I  had  the  honour  of  accompanying  him  when  he  walked  through  the 
streets  to  the  quarters  of  General  Cavaignac,  amid  the  acclamations 
of  the  multitude.  About  himself  Ozanam  says  nothing  more* 

He  wrote  in  another  letter  :  "  What  a  happy  thing  it  is  at  such 
moments  to  have  dear  ones  out  of  Paris."  At  the  moment  when 
popular  agitation  began,  Ozanam  had  at  once  arranged  to  send  away 
his  wife  and  child,  whom  he  installed  for  the  summer  months  at 
Bellevue  near  Meudon.  He  had  had  at  the  same  time  his  father- 
in-law  carried  away  to  the  country  very  ill.  Since  his  son's  death  he 
had  been  a  prey  to  melancholy,  on  which  the  terror  of  these  bloody 
days  was  super-imposed.  He  died  from  a  violent  attack  on  the  24th 
July,  1848. 

Ozanam  mourned  for  him,  not  without  religious  consolation  :  '  My 
excellent  and  beloved  father-in-law,"  he  wrote  "  died  in  our  arms. 
He  had  all  the  consolations  of  a  Christian,  well-spent  life  and  of  a  happy 
death  .  M.  Soulacroix  lived  a  good  Christian  life.  He  bore 

his  sufferings  in  a  still  more  Christian  manner,  and  he  departed  this 
life  with  sentiments  of  faith,  hope  and  charity,  and  a  desire  for  Heaven, 

*This  is  according  to  the  account  given  by  Ozanam's  brother,  ch  XVIII, 
p  393— by  Pere  Lacordaire  in  his  funeral  notice,  VIII,  p.  253— and  in  the  notes 
to  Ozanam's  letters,  p.  237— in  the  Histone  de  la  seconds  Rfpublique  by  M.  Pierre 
de  la  Gorce.  All  are  agreed  in  attributing  to  Ozanam  and  his  companions  the  iaea 
of  approaching  the  Archbishop.  On  the  other  hand  a  letter  of  M.  Cornudet 
to  his  sister  attributes  it  in  the  first  instance  to  the  Abbe  Buquet,  as  appears 
in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  May  1894. 


270  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

which  inspires  perfect  confidence  that  we  shall  see  him  there  if  we  are 
worthy  to  follow  him.  But  how  hard  it  is  in  times  of  difficulty  to 
be  deprived  of  such  a  tender  father,  and  of  a  man  of  such  counsel  and 
courage." 

If  he  described  himself  as  afflicted  by  domestic  grief,  he  was  over 
whelmed  by  the  causes  for  national  mourning  ;  but  he  was  still  un 
dismayed.  He  wrote  on  the  3ist  July  to  Count  Champagny  :  "Alas  ! 
my  dear  sir,  you  ask  me  for  my  views  on  the  present  situation.  We 
are  under  the  judgment  of  God.  In  the  dark  cloud  of  grief,  under 
which  we  are  living,  I  can  no  longer  see  whither  we  are  being  led, 
unless  that  Providence  is  leading  us  whither  He  wills.  When  one 
witnesses  generals  wounded  and  dead,  the  flower  of  the  African  army 
gone,  the  heroic  Archbishop  killed,  and  Chateaubriand  no  more, 
who,  in  a  way,  represented  ancient  France,  it  seems  to  me  as  if  our 
very  fatherland  were  crumbling  away.  It  appears  to  be  disappearing 
and  bearing  with  it  all  that  we  held  dear :  liberty  itself,  which  now 
seems  possible  only  in  a  state  of  siege  :  the  growing  popularity 
of  Catholicism,  compromised  by  the  present  difficulties  of  Pius  IX. 
But  I  have  not  at  any  time  concealed  from  myself  the  difficulties  and 
dangers  of  the  situation.  I  have  always  believed  in  the  invasion  of 
the  barbarians.  I  believe  in  it  now  more  than  ever.  I  think  that  it 
will  be  slow  and  sanguinary,  but  that  it  must  sooner  or  later  give  way 
before  the  Christian  Law.  It  will  then  regenerate  the  world.  I  am 
certain  that  we  shall  witness  the  horrors  of  the  struggle,  I  am  not  so 
certain  that  our  children  will  see  its  close." 

Then  comes  the  sublime  word,  the  sublimity  of  faith  which  moves 
mountains  :—"  Let  us  pray;  we  must  not  believe  that  the  end  of 
France  has  come.  Because  at  this  moment,  the  end  of  France  would 
be  the  end  of  the  world.  Can  it  possibly  be  believed  that  the  temporal 
destiny  of  Christianity  has  run  its  course  and  that  God  has  no  further 
use  for  this  world  but  to  iudge  it  ?  That  is  what  I  shall  never  say. 
Even  were  all  modern  society  annihilated,  I  should  be  still  assured 
that  God,  in  His  omnipotence,  could  with  greater  ease,  raise  up  a  new 
state  of  society,  than  that  He  could  confine  the  effects  of  the  Precious 
Blood  of  His  Son  to  the  little  good,  which  the  last  eighteen  hundred 
centuries  have  produced." 

Now  was  the  time  for  Ozanam  to  work  harder  than  ever,  mingling 
with  the  poor  people  to  comfort  them  in  their  troubles  and  enlighten 
them  in  their  errors.  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  on  one  side, 


TRIBUTE  TO  THE   SOCIETY  271 

and  The  New  Era  on  another,  were  to  co-operate  in  the  double 
apostolate  of  corporal  and  spiritual  aid,  for  the  poverty-stricken  as 
well  as  for  the  ruling  classes  in  Paris  and  in  France. 

The  consequences  of  the  June  insurrection  threw  France,  and  more 
particularly  Paris,  into  a  deplorable  condition  of  suffering  and  destitu 
tion.  The  immediate  shutting  down  of  the  national  workshops  left 
267,000  workmen  in  the  Capital  out  of  work.  Fear  paralysed  in 
dustry  and  commerce.  The  manufacturing  houses  were  closed  and 
orders  countermanded.  Capitalists  were  in  hiding,  the  landed 
proprietors  had  fled  Paris,  and  were  not  in  any  hurry  to  return  :  public 
funds  were  quoted  at  ridiculous  prices  :  the  resources  of  charity  had 
been  exhausted  by  the  ruin  or  the  absence  of  those  who  provided  them. 
Thus  societies  and  houses  of  charity  were  forced  to  turn  away  from 
their  doors,  their  poor,  their  children,  and  their  sick  clients.  What 
was  going  to  become  of  the  multitude  without  work,  without  credit, 
without  food,  and  without  hope  ? 

Ozanam  was  consumed  with  pity  at  the  spectacle  :  "  Wearied  of 
the  controversies  which  are  agitating  Paris,  I  am  stricken  with  sorrow 
at  the  spectacle  of  the  misery  which  is  desolating  it,"  he  wrote  to  M. 
Foisset.  "  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  has  great  responsibili 
ties  cast  upon  it.  Perhaps  God  has  allowed  it  to  progress  so  rapidly, 
in  order  to  enable  it  to  perform  the  work  which  He  was  getting  ready 
for  it.  It  is  good  to  see  at  close  quarters,  the  poor  men,  unarmed, 
among  their  wives  and  children,  whom  we  have  formerly  seen  too 
often  in  the  clubs  and  at  the  barricades.  It  will  then  be  seen  with 
astonishment,  how  much  Christianity,  and  consequently  how  much 
hope,  there  is  in  the  people.  Ah  !  if  we  only  had  saints  !  But  how 
can  we  doubt  that  God  has  them  in  reserve  for  an  age  to  which  He 
gave  Pius  IX  and  the  Archbishop  of  Paris  ?" 

The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  had  just  received  a  high  tribute 
of  confidence  from  the  Government.  Grants  had  been  voted  by  the 
National  Assembly  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  in  the  Department  of 
the  Seine,  and  its  distribution  in  the  homes  was  entrusted,  in  part, 
to  the  Conferences  in  regular  contact  with  those  poor.  Several  Mayors 
in  Paris  had  acted  similarly,  notably  Dr.  Trelat,  Physician  to  the 
Asylum  and  Mayor  of  the  Xllth  Ward.  The  celebrated  doctor  was 
not  at  all  too  religious,  but  he  stated  from  actual  knowledge,  that  such 
a  responsible  matter  could  not  be  entrusted  to  more  reliable  or  more 
experienced  hands. 


272  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

It  was  with  those  conditions  prevailing  that  the  Quarterly  General 
Meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  on  the  2nd  August  in  a  hall  attached 
to  St.  Sulpice  Church.  The  moment  was  solemn.  M.  Adolphe 
Baudon,  who  had  succeeded  the  venerable  M.  Gossin  as  President- 
General  on  the  I4th  February,  had  just  had  his  leg  fractured  at  the 
barricade  of  the  Petit- Pont  de  la  Cite.  Ozanam,  as  Vice-President,  took 
his  place.  At  his  right  sat  the  chairman  of  the  meeting,  the  Abbe 
Fournier,  future  Bishop  of  Nantes,  Member  of  the  National  Assembly. 
At  his  left  was  M.  Augustin  Cochin,  Secretary-General.  Ozanam  began 
by  assuring  the  meeting  that  their  beloved  and  courageous  President 
would  not  be  lost  to  them  :  "  He  will  not  go  from  us  as  do  the  glorious 
dead  and  wounded,  who  depart  one  after  another,  seeming  to  bear 
our  fatherland  away  with  them." 

He  mentioned  the  names  of  some  of  the  members  who  perished 
during  those  sad  days  :  M.  Lecoq,  a  member  of  the  Conference  of  St. 
Paul-St.  Louis,  a  brilliant  mining  engineer  and  one  of  the  most  promis 
ing  students  of  the  Polythecnic  :  M.  Charre,  President  of  the  Conference 
in  Montmartre  :  "  He  was  only  twenty- two  years  of  age  :  a  young 
Law  student  crowned  with  success,  a  naturalist,  an  archaeologist, 
an  only  son,  rich,  intelligent,  to  whom  all  honour  and  happiness  was 
beckoning.  He  was  hit  righting  by  his  father's  side.  After  ten  hours 
of  agony  he  breathed  his  soul  to  God,  Who  will  have  taken  into  account 
the  sacrifice  of  his  youth,  the  mourning  of  his  brothers  in  the  Society, 
and  the  tears  of  the  poor." 

The  memory  of  His  Grace,  Archbishop  Affre,  received  mournful 
tribute  in  his  address  :  "  He  was  a  father  to  our  growing  Society. 
He  had  recently  handed  over  a  large  sum  of  money  to  it,  for  the  benefit 
and  the  instruction  of  young  migratory  workmen  in  Paris.  Thus 
the  good  of  the  people  occupied  all  his  thoughts  up  to  the  time  when 
he  was  to  die  for  the  safety  of  the  people.  God  permitted,  in  that  sup 
reme  moment,  that  the  humble  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  should 
be  represented  near  the  Archbishop  by  one  of  its  members  bearing  a 
flag  of  truce.  That  is  a  domestic  tribute  and  a  family  tradition  which 
we  wish  to  be  mentioned  in  the  account  of  that  death  which  history 
will  record  with  honour.  My  dear  Brothers,  many  among  you  will 
remember  the  day  when  a  preacher,  whom  we  all  love,  cried  out  in 
Notre  Dame  in  the  presence  of  the  Abbe  Affre,  then  Vicar-General  of  the 
diocese  :  '  My  God,  give  us  saints,  it  is  too  long  since  we  have  seen 


IRELAND    AND   FRANCE  273 

any.'  God  is  generous,  my  dear  Brothers,  you  asked  for  saints  and 
He  has  given  you  martyrs." 

When  the  tribute  has  been  paid  to  the  dead,  duty  to  the  living 
must  be  attended  to.  Ozanam  advises  the  distributors  of  State  aid 
to  be  messengers  of  peace  to  the  insurgents.  Their  task  as  mediators 
between  the  conqueror  and  the  vanquished  should  not  be  limited 
to  giving  charity ;  they  should  strive  to  rehabilitate  charity  in  the  eyes 
of  those  poor,  duped,  embittered  workmen,  by  showing  them  that  it 
was  prompt,  compassionate,  merciful,  forgetful  of  the  past :  "  Sons 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  let  us  learn  of  Him  to  forget  ourselves,  to 
devote  ourselves  to  the  service  of  God  and  the  good  of  men.  Let 
us  learn  of  Him  that  holy  preference  which  shows  most  love  to  those 
who  suffer  most." 

Ozanam  next  thanked  private  and  foreign  contributors.  The  pre 
vious  year,  Ozanam  had  carried  on  a  propaganda,  and  with  what 
fervour  !  for  Ireland,  which  was  then  decimated  with  famine  and 
typhus.  One  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  francs  had  been  collected 
and  forwarded  to  the  Council  in  Dublin.  To-day,  it  was  Ireland's 
turn,  who,  mindful  of  Paris  and  its  trials,  begged  of  her  to  accept  the 
balance  of  50,000  francs  for  her  wounded  and  her  unemployed  workmen. 
Ozanam  was  full  of  admiration  for  the  offer  and  insisted  that  it 
should  be  accepted  :  "It  was  a  rare  example  of  that  fraternity  of 
charity  which  knows  no  distinction  of  nationality  in  the  sight  of  God." 

M.  Augustin  Cochin  spoke  after  Ozanam  and  also  delivered  a  beau 
tiful  address,  animated  with  the  same  zeal.  His  report  on  the  Society 
stated  that  69  Conferences  had  been  founded  in  1847,  bringing  their 
total  number  of  363  (334  Conferences,  29  Councils)  on  the  ist  January, 
1848,  to  393  to  date  (the  August  meeting).  Of  that  number  England 
had  17,  Holland  16,  Canada  u.  The  enthusiasm  of  M.  Cochin  burst 
forth  :  "  There  is  scarce  a  day  in  the  year,  or  an  hour  in  the  day,  on 
which  men  are  not  gathered  together  at  some  spot  in  the  Christian 
world,  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  to  perform  works 
for  the  good  of  man  and  the  glory  of  God,  good  works  in  which  they 
have  one  prayer,  one  faith,  and  one  Rule.  No  frontiers  divide  them, 
the  horizon  broadens  daily,  and  each  day  sees  new  constellations 
of  charity  appear  in  the  Vincentian  firmament." 

M.  Baudon's  wound  necessitated  a  long  absence,  and  an  equally  long 
period  of  vice-presidency  for  Ozanam.  During  the  close  of  that  ter 
rible  year  he  was  the  effective  acting-President  of  the  Society.  He 

s 


274  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

congratulated  it  on  the  fact  that  it  had  survived  the  troubles  and 
was  intact.  He  encouraged  it  to  redoubled  energy  for  that  year : 
"Do  we  not  owe  something  to  Providence,  my  dear  Brothers,  who 
has  preserved  us  when  so  many  others  have  perished  ?  Is  it  enough 
to  continue  to  do  the  little  which  we  have  been  accustomed  to  do? 
When  the  hardships  of  the  time  are  inventing  new  forms  of  suffering, 
can  we  rest  satisfied  with  old  remedies  ?" 

What  did  he  mean  ?  More  active  recruitment  for  the  Conferences  ; 
a  more  ardent  search  for  the  unfortunate  poor  who  were  in  hiding, 
for  those  who  were  ashamed  to  beg,  hard-working  men  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  live  by  their  work  and  whom  a  long  enforced  idleness 
had  reduced  to  penury. 

He  asked  himself  in  the  month  of  September  :  "  What  will  the 
opening  year  be  like  for  France  ?  I  do  not  know,  but  I  know  that 
it  will  be  for  our  Society  one  of  those  periods  in  the  campaign, 
which  cause  most  fatigue  but  which  count  double.  Go  to  the  unhappy 
poor  with  your  offering,  no  matter  how  small  it  may  be.  If  we  had 
but  the  widow's  mite  to  offer,  the  poor  will  at  least  have  had  the 
consolation  of  having  clasped  the  hand  of  a  friend,  of  having  heard 
a  Christian  point  of  view,  of  having  been  taught  to  honour  their 
poverty  as  the  Saviour's  crown  of  thorns." 

The  year's  campaign  opened,  at  the  close  of  1848,  with  an  epidemic 
of  cholera.  Uneasy  for  the  safety  of  his  wife  and  child,  Ozanam  placed 
them  in  Versailles.  On  the  22nd  April,  1849,  he  called  together  and 
organised,  with  his  colleagues  on  the  Council,  a  band  of  forty  picked 
men  to  carry  temporal  and  spiritual  aid  to  the  victims  of  cholera, 
whom  special  reasons  prevented  from  being  taken  to  hospital.  By 
the  time  of  the  next  Quarterly  General  Meeting  of  the  Society,  on  the 
igth  July,  the  first  forty  had  become  one  hundred  and  twelve.  "  Surely 
it  was  a  small  number,"  he  said,  "  to  go  to  the  aid  of  a  decimated  people, 
with  an  administration  thrown  altogether  out  of  gear,  and  science 
completely  beaten.  But  those  one  hundred  and  twelve  picked  men 
did  not  wait  to  contrast  their  insignificance  with  the  greatness  of  the 
danger  and  of  the  need.  Divided  into  nine  sections  amongst  the 
most  severely  visited  quarters,  they  placed  their  services  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and  of  the  medical  ambulances. 
Upwards  of  two  thousand  sick  received  their  ministrations  in  the 
space  of  two  months.  Three-fourths  of  those  recovered ;  the  rest  died 
a  happy  death  fortified  with  the  rights  of  the  Church." 


ST.  VINCENT    DE    PAUL   AND   RICHELIEU          275 

Ozanam  regretted  that  he  could  not  report  in  detail  the  horror 
and  desolation  of  the  time :  "  Entire  streets  depopulated  in  a  few 
nights,  but  pardon  and  grace  harvesting  all  the  time  with  full  hands  : 
all  the  poor  people  wishing  to  die  in  the  priest's  arms  :  then  the  unheard 
of  homage,  the  shouts  of  joy,  the  flowers  scattered  beneath  the  feet 
of  the  new  Archbishop,  His  Grace  Dr.  Sibour,  as  he  made  his  pilgrimage 
to  the  tomb  of  St.  Genevieve.  Then  again,  the  gratitude  of  families, 
the  emotion  of  the  crowd,  who  were  astonished  and  amazed  that 
young  men  should,  for  the  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  leave  their  homes  to 
enter  the  stricken  faubourg,  to  nurse  the  sick  and  bury  the  dead/' 

"  His  Grace  the  Archbishop  has  officially  undertaken  the  adoption 
of  orphans.  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  will  do  its  part.  In 
how  many  other  centres  in  the  provinces  has  not  the  same  been  done  ? 
Thus  Faith  is  coming  back  in  the  footsteps  of  Charity,  and  Religion, 
now  knocking  at  doors  which  had  been  long  closed  to  it,  will  bring 
in  with  it  peace,  reconciliation  and  the  promise  of  Eternity." 

A  contrast  of  the  effects  of  political  action  and  charitable  work 
which  was  made  at  the  same  Quarterly  General  Meeting,  suggested 
the  names  of  Richelieu  and  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  living  near  one 
another,  amid  the  evils  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  and  the  destruction  of 
political  factions.  Ozanam  exclaimed  in  beautiful  language  :  "  The 
great  Minister  certainly  played  a  glorious  part,  but  who  could,  and 
who  would  if  he  could,  continue  it  to-day  ?  Richelieu  was  but  a  man 
of  one  country,  of  one  period,  of  a  few  years.  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  is, 
on  the  other  hand,  for  all  lands  and  for  all  time.  His  name  is  cele 
brated  wherever  the  sun  illumines  the  Crucifix  on  a  church-tower. 
His  spirit  visits  the  hospitals  and  schools  of  our  faubourgs  in  the 
persons  of  his  Sisters,  as  well  as  the  Missions  of  Lebanon,  China  and 
Texas,  which  are  manned  with  his  sons.  His  work  never  grows  old  : 
who  does  not  wish  to-day  to  continue  it?  If  we  have  courage  and 
faith,  gentlemen,  what  will  keep  us  back  ? 


276 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

<r-  THE  NEW  ERA." 

"TO    GOOD    PEOPLE/' — DESTITUTION,    CAUSES     AND     REMEDIES. — THE 
REPUBLIC. — REACTION  AND  DIVISION. — THE  END  OF  The  New  Era. 

1848-49. 

While  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  was  going  to  the  poor  to 
comfort  them  in  their  misery,  The  New  Era  devoted  itself  to  enlisting 
the  sympathies  of  the  charitable  public.  One  of  Ozanam's  letters, 
dated  the  3rd  July,  a  week  after  the  insurrection,  runs  as  follows  : 
'  The  New  Era  claims  the  greatest  part  of  whatever  time  is  left  me 
from  my  examinations.  I  have  contributed  five  articles  in  ten  days. 
Those  articles  were  snapped  up  as  soon  as  they  appeared  in  print. 
We  have,"  he  said,  "  the  satisfaction  of  doing  some  good,  for  as  many 
as  eight  thousand  copies  a  day  have  been  sold  in  the  streets  of  Paris." 

These  articles  were  received  with  quite  unexpected  popularity  in 
the  faubourgs.  They  were  directed  to  the  disarmed  insurgents, 
"  speaking  to  them  without  patronising  them,  without  irritating 
them,  but  teaching  them  to  estimate  at  their  proper  value  those  who 
had  duped  them.  Well-to-do  people  praised  the  firmness  of  our  words 
and  did  us  the  honour  of  attributing  to  us  a  sympathetic  heart,  and  a 
sincere  passion  for  the  interests  of  the  people." 

It  was  to  those  good  people  themselves,  and  to  all  good  citizens 
that  Ozanam  appealed  some  months  later  "  to  be  no  longer  silent  about 
truths  which  have  ceased  to  be  a  source  of  danger."  He  addresses 
them  in  more  stirring  terms  than  usual  "  without  fearing  that  my 
appeal  will  be  misused  by  wicked  men  or  that  it  will  furnish  ammuni 
tion  for  guns  at  the  barricades. "- 

Thus,  on  the  24th  September,  the  following  is  to  be  read  in  a  letter 
to  M.  Foisset :  "  I  have  allowed  my  feelings  full  expression  in  an  article  in 
The  New  Era,  which  you  may  have  read,  entitled :  To  Good  People." 
It  is  indeed  his  patriotic  and  Christian  heart,  which  has  dictated  the 


POVERTY,  CAUSES   AND   REMEDY  277 

twenty-five  pages  which  one  would  wish  to  produce  in  extenso.  There 
is  here  no  aiming  at  literary  effect,  no  academic  controversy  ;  only 
fundamental  facts  stated  in  the  simplest,  and  consequently  in  the 
most  eloquent  and  most  beautiful,  language.  Ozanam  relates  what 
he  has  seen  in  his  visits  to  the  homes  of  those  men.  He  tells  it  to  all 
who  have,  or  who  wish  to  have,  that  knowledge  of  the  poor  which  he 
himself  has  gathered. 

To  Good  People  \  Those  whom  he  so  calls  are,  according  to  him, 
France  itself,  minus  the  self-seekers  and  the  faction-makers :  the 
immense  majority  of  the  eight  millions  of  electors,  who  have  given  the 
National  Assembly  to  the  country :  the  eight  hundred  thousand  Na 
tional  Guards  who  came  forward  in  June  to  defend  her.  He  addresses 
in  succession,  the  Priests,  the  Rich,  and  the  Public  Representatives. 
What  he  would  speak  to  them  of  to-day  is  about  an  enemy  which  has 
not  been  defeated  or  crushed,  but  which  stands  forth  more  terrible 
and  more  menacing  than  ever  :  Destitution.  The  destitution  of  267,000 
unemployed  workpeople  in  Paris,  and  in  particular  in  the  I2th  Ward, 
which  had  been  a  storm-centre  of  the  insurrection.  Ozanam  describes 
its  horror  and  suffering  ;  but  he  also  throws  into  relief  its  concealed 
virtues,  its  simple  Christianity.  He  makes  us  weep  and  wonder. 

After  that  harrowing  picture  of  misery,  the  article  proceeds  to 
enquire  into  the  causes,  which  are  to  be  found  in  moral  conditions, 
and  the  remedy  for  which  will  be  found  in  "  reform  of  morals  through 
education  rather  than  through  legislation  ;  through  Catholic  education 
by  those  Friars  and  Sisters,  who  can  teach  the  children  of  the  people 
something  better,  than  to  spell  out  the  words  of  a  newspaper,  or  to 
chalk  on  the  dead  walls  of  the  city  the  order  of  the  day  at  the  barri 
cades." 

There  is  a  place  also  in  those  schemes  of  reform,  for  adult  night 
schools,  for  schools  for  apprentices,  for  Academies  of  Arts  and 
Trades,  Public  Libraries,  Military  Associations,  Co-operative  Societies. 
But  what  Ozanam  wishes  particularly  to  create  among  men  of  good 
will  is  "  the  conviction  that  the  public  authorities  of  Paris  have  not 
discharged  all  their  responsibility,  when  they  have  voted  six  million 
francs  for  the  maintenance  of  unemployed  workmen,  which  is  at  the 
rate  of  three-halfpence  per  head  per  day  up  to  the  month  of  the  follow 
ing  April ;  and  further  that  the  time  has  not  yet  arrived  to  forget 
public  starvation,  simply  because  winter  and  cholera  are  no  longer 
there  to  remind  us  of  them." 


278  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

We  apologise  for  giving  only  the  rough  outlines  of  those  strongly- 
drawn  pictures,  without  the  colouring,  the  emotion,  the  sparkle,  the 
movement,  without  in  fact  any  feature  which  would  demonstrate 
their  greatness,  power,  truth  and  life.  It  is  also  a  matter  for  regret 
that  one  can  only  give  the  title  of  another  article  :  Assistance  which 
humiliates  and  Assistance  which  honours  \  and  of  yet  another:  Alms 
giving. 

In  these  the  supernatural  point  of  view  dominates  all  else.  The 
poor  man  is  the  intercessor  for  the  rich,  and  in  that  way  gives  more 
than  he  receives.  "  If  you  give  in  the  name  of  God,  and  if  the  poor 
man  prays  for  you,  there  is  reciprocity  of  service.  The  poverty- 
stricken  family,  whom  you  have  helped,  has  more  than  repaid  the 
debt,  when  the  old  man,  the  good  mother,  the  little  children  bring 
your  name  before  His  Throne." 

Elsewhere  the  poor  man  is  a  priest.  His  hunger,  his  sweat,  his 
blood  constitute  an  expiatory  sacrifice  which  redeems  humanity. 
The  alms,  which  our  religion  tends  to  him  in  gratitude,  are  offerings 
such  as  we  beg  the  priest  to  accept  for  Masses,  while  kissing  his  hand 
in  thanks. 

The  titles  of  the  articles  do  not  give  a  true  idea  of  their  character. 
They  are  really  a  series  of  studies  which  embrace  the  whole  doctrine 
of  Christian  Economy,  animated  by  an  eloquence,  and  illumined  by  a 
faith  which  make  them  seem  indeed  pages  from  the  Holy  Gospel. 

The  last  of  those  essays,  which  come  to  us  in  his  Complete  Works* 
is  a  philosophical  and  historical  study  on  the  Origin  of  Socialism. 
"It  is  time,"  he  states  at  the  opening,  "  to  demonstrate  that  the 
proletarian  cause  can  be  pleaded,  the  uplifting  of  the  suffering  poor 
be  engaged  in,  and  the  abolition  of  pauperism  pursued,  without  identi 
fying  oneself  with  the  wild  appeals  which  provoked  the  June  upheaval, 
and  which  still  cast  a  gloom  over  the  future." 

Ozanam  indicates  the  fatal  doctrines  of  that  false  Socialism,  contrasts 
the  better  types  in  the  Church,  and  re-establishes  the  sacred  founda 
tions  of  all  Social  Science.  Philosophy  demonstrates  that  all  social 
theories  from  Plato  to  Muncer  and  John  Leyden,  have  only  resulted 
in  visionary  Utopias,  disorder  and  violence.  The  historian  shows, 
on  the  other  hand,  what  the  Church  has  accomplished  for  the  main 
tenance  of  the  rights  of  property  on  the  one  hand,  and  for  the  right 

"Ozanam's  articles  are  not  signed.     We  must  therefore  confine  ourselves  to 
fragments  inserted  in  his  Complete  works:  M Manges,  vol  7,  page  231. 


KNOWLEDGE   OF   SOCIAL  WELL-BEING  279 

organisation  of  labour  on  the  other,  for  co-operation  founded  on  the 
twin  base  of  Justice  and  Christian  Charity.  The  theologian,  if  I  may 
call  him  so,  deduces  the  following  principle  as  a  consequence :  "  In 
Christian  Society  the  interests  of  heaven  and  earth  are  so  closely 
intertwined,  that  its  dogma  has  never  been  attacked  without  shaking 
temporal  institutions  to  their  very  foundations."  The  dogma  of 
the  fall  of  man  and  his  redemption  by  sacrifice  and  suffering :  the 
dogma  of  a  future  existence,  which  is  the  sanction  and  the  complement 
of  this,  encouraging  and  consoling  it  with  hope  :  such  is  the  twin- 
key  of  those  deep  problems  :  "  For  their  solution,  we  must  never  cease 
to  look  to  that  Christianity,  which  has  equally  reproved  socialist  errors 
and  selfish  passions,  which  is  alone  able  to  realise  the  ideal  of  fraternity 
without  sacrifice  of  liberty,  which  is  alone  able  to  find  the  greatest 
earthly  happiness  for  men,  without  forcing  them  to  abandon  the  divine 
gift  of  resignation  ;  for  that  is  the  surest  solace  for  suffering  and  the 
crown  of  a  life  which  is  finite." 

Ozanam  continues  :  "  The  knowledge  of  social  well-being  and  of 
reform  is  to  be  learned,  not  from  books,  nor  from  the  public  platform, 
but  in  climbing  the  stairs  to  the  poor  man's  garret,  sitting  by  his  bed 
side,  feeling  the  same  cold  that  pierces  him,  sharing  the  secret  of  his 
lonely  heart  and  troubled  mind.  When  the  conditions  of  the  poor 
have  been  examined,  in  school,  at  work,  in  hospital,  in  the  city,  in 
the  country,  everywhere  that  God  has  placed  them,  it  is  then  and  then 
only,  that  we  know  the  elements  of  that  formidable  problem,  that 
we  begin  to  grasp  it  and  may  hope  to  solve  it." 

There  were  young  members  of  the  Society  who  were  fascinated  by 
visionary  Utopias.  Ozanam  relates  for  their  benefit  his  own  experience 
and  the  recollections  of  his  student  days  :  "It  will  be  said,  and  it  is 
being  said,  '  How  long  will  you  continue  to  work  in  Catholic  associa 
tions  to  practise  the  charity  of  the  glass  of  water  ?  What  can  you 
accomplish  in  company  with  men  who  know  only  how  to  comfort 
misery,  but  who  do  not  know  how  to  prevent  it  ?  Will  you  not  prefer 
to  have  a  part  in  those  greater  associations  that  strive  to  tear  up  the 
whole  evil  from  its  roots,  to  regenerate  the  world,  to  restore  the  dis 
inherited  to  their  succession  ?'  That  language  is  not  new.  The  Saint 
Simonians  and  others  addressed  it  to  us  fifteen  years  ago  when,  a  small 
band,  we  founded  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  !  Heaven  forfend 
that  we  should  praise  our  Society  and  its  work  !  But  when  we  contrast 
what  we  should  have  accomplished  in  co-operation  with  those  men, 


2&>  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

with  the  needs  we  have  helped,  the  tears  we  have  dried,  the  marriages 
regularised,  the  number  of  children  we  have  safe-guarded,  of  crimes 
perhaps  prevented,  and  the  anger  which  we  have  softened,  we  do 
not  regret  the  choice  which  God  inspired  us  to  make.  Make  the 
same  choice,  gentlemen,  and  in  fifteen  years  you  will  not  regret  it 
either." 

Up  to  that  time  The  New  Era,  the  journal  of  social  pacification 
through  the  medium  of  Christianity,  had  practically  no  opponent 
in  the  Catholic  ranks.  It  was  indeed  for  the  sake  of  the  imperative 
need  of  social  liberty,  that  the  provisional  support  of  their  chiefs 
had  been  given  to  the  Republic.  The  Univers  had  declared  already 
on  the  24th  February  :  "  The  July  dynasty  is  gone,  the  Republic  is 
here.  Nothing  is  possible  to-day  or  yesterday  without  liberty. 
Genuine  liberty  can  save  all.  Every  Government  has  in  itself  the 
faculty  of  growing  strong.  It  has  only  to  love  justice  and  to  foster 
liberty." 

Montalembert  had  also  associated  the  names  of  the  Republic  and 
liberty  in  his  manifesto,  dated  28th  February,  to  Catholic  Committees  : 
"Amid  every  revolution  the  Church  stands  erect.  In  the  first  place 
and  before  all  else,  as  Catholics,  we  must,  under  the  Republic  as  under 
the  Monarchy,  defend,  love  and  serve  the  cause  of  religious  liberty, 
with  an  ardent  patriotism  and  an  imperishable  devotion  to  the  glory 
and  happiness  of  our  own  country."  His  profession  of  faith  to  the 
electorate  of  Doubs  went  so  far  as  to  say  :  "  If  this  form  of  government 
guarantees  here,  as  it  does  in  the  United  States,  the  supreme  benefit 
of  liberty  to  religion,  to  property,  and  to  family,  the  Republic  will 
not  have  a  more  devoted  son  than  I.  But  if  it  does  not  stop  at  violence, 
it  may  indeed  have  me  for  a  victim,  it  will  never  have  me  as  an  instru 
ment  or  an  accomplice." 

We  have  already  noticed  that  Pcre  Lacordaire  had  enrolled  The 
New  Em  under  the  flag  of  the  Republic,  although  "prior  to  February 
there  was  not  an  atom  of  republicanism  in  his  nature.  If  he  did  so, 
it  was,  he  admitted,  in  the  hope  of,  and  with  a  view  to,  getting  under 
its  auspices  that  religious  liberty  which  had  been  denied  by  former 
governments." 

Foisset's  prudent  and  far-seeing  mind  also  ranged  itself  by  the  side 
of  that  loyal  rally  "  with  a  view  to  holding  anarchy  in  check,  and  in 
circumstances  which  had  not  so  far  given  religion  any  cause  for  com- 


DEMOCRACY  281 

plaints/'    He  joined  hands  with  Ozanam  and  Lacordaire ;    he  was 
more  than  their  guide,  he  was  their  oracle. 

Ozanam  had  welcomed  the  Republic,  not  as  a  concession,  not  as  a 
state  of  transition,  but  with  conviction,  nor  as  a  matter  of  expediency 
but  as  a  solution.     He  had  not  called  for  it,  but  he  welcomed  it  as  an 
act  of  Providence.     The  soundness  of  his  reasons  may  be  open  to 
question,  but  not  his  religious  conviction  nor  the  nobility  of  his  view. 
He  found  his  reasons  to  hand  in  the  past  history  of  the  civilising 
of  the  barbarians  through  Christianity,  which  had  been  the  subject 
matter  of  his  research  and  of  his  lectures.     He  found  in  the  Middle 
Ages  an  uninterrupted  course  of  emancipation   of  which   he  wrote  : 
"  My  knowledge  of  history  forces  me  to  the  conclusion  that  democracy 
is  the  natural  final  stage  of  the  development  of  political  progress, 
and  that  God  leads  the  world  thither."     It  was  the  Church  that  had 
carried  out  that  work  of  emancipation  under  conditions  which  caused 
Bishop  Remi  to  exclaim  to  the  great  leader  of  the  barbarians  called 
Clovis  :  "  Burn  what  you  have  hitherto  adored,  and  adore  what  you 
have  burned."     Comparing  those  barbarians  of  old  with  the  ignorant 
and  gross  mass  of  the  people  of  to-day,  Ozanam  does  not  hesitate  to 
detest  their  vices  and  fear  their  violence ;  but  on  the  other  hand  he  sees 
in  them  a  virile  energy  which  gives  grounds  for  the  hope  that  vitality 
and  regeneration  is  to  be  found  in  them.     It  will  be  wanted  on  the  day 
when  these  forces,  at  present  brutish,  will  have  been  reduced  to  dis 
cipline  and  brought  under  the  gentle  yoke  of  Christ  the    Redeemer. 
That  was  progress  by  the  way  of  the  Gospel.     But  was  it  the  Gospel 
that  the  middle  classes  of  July  had  preached  to  the  people  by  their 
word,  their  example,  their  Press  and  their  laws  ?     Must  not  a  govern 
ment  elected  by  the  vote  of  the  people,  understand  better  the  needs 
of  the  people  and  the  duties  of  the  State  ?       "  Let  us  side  with  it, 
let  us  trust  in  it,  let  us  work  out  the  ideal  of  the  Church  under  a  new 
regime.     Are  not  the  men  of  the  Church  and  the  men  of  the  people  to 
be  found  side  by  side  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  of  liberty  ?" 

Much  might  be  said  about  the  comparison  and  the  conclusions  which 
Ozanam  had  drawn.  While  awaiting  the  fruit  by  which  the  tree 
would  be  judged,  Catholic  solidarity  had  held  steady  pending  that 
adjustment  of  their  different  view-points.  It  had  been  the  same  in 
the  case  of  the  February  Republic,  and  with  The  New  Era  in  its  early 
days.  But  the  events  of  June  had  changed  matters  altogether. 
With  whatever  meaning  of  peace  and  Christianity  Ozanam  had  been 


282  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

able  to  imbue  the  words  Equality  and  Fraternity,  they  were  now 
generally  interpreted  as  meaning  the  reign  of  the  demagogue,  the 
communist,  the  socialist,  and  the  anarchist.  They  spread  terror. 

That  terror  was  shared  by  Europe,  which  had  been  shaken  by  the 
repercussion  of  that  violent  revolutionary  upheaval.  Italian  Liberal 
ism  was  losing  ground  daily.  Pius  IX  saw  his  popularity  in  Rome 
changed  into  hostility  when  he  refused  to  declare  war  on  Austria,  a 
prelude  to  further  acts  of  violence.  The  patriotic  efforts  of  Charles- 
Albert  to  free  Italy  from  the  yoke  of  Austria  had  altogether  broken 
down  in  July  1848,  at  Novara  before  Radetzky's  forces.  There  re 
mained  only  Venice,  of  all  the  Lombardy- Venetian  States  to  continue 
the  fight,  protected  by  its  marshes  and  directed  by  the  dictatorial 
hand  of  Daniel  Manin. 

We  mention  these  facts  merely  to  mark  the  beginning  of  Frederick 
Ozanam's  grievous  disillusionment.  The  party  of  confidence  was 
about  to  be  disintegrated.  It  was  towards  authority,  such  as  it  was, 
that  opinion  was  turning.  The  attempt  of  The  New  Era  to 
reconcile  all  parties  under  the  flag  of  the  Republic  appeared  hence 
forward  to  be  a  chimera  and  became  a  sign  of  contradiction.  Although 
that  paper  was  edited  and  directed  by  prominent  ecclesiastics, 
the  religion  which  it  placed  in  its  forefront  might  even  be  discredited 
be  being  identified  with  its  policy.  Animated  by  that  consideration, 
Pere  Lacordaire  decided  that  the  interests  of  his  order  and  of  his 
preaching  necessitated  his  resigning  from  the  management  of  the 
paper.  He  did  not  cease  on  that  account  to  hold  it  in  affection. 

He  notified  Ozanam  on  the  2ist  August,  1848,  of  the  "  sad  sacrifice" 
which  the  management  of  the  paper  had  decided  on  by  four  votes 
to  three.  His  heart  was  against  it.  His  letter  was  as  follows  :  "  We 
have  furnished  the  model  of  a  genuinely  Catholic  paper,  at  once  honour 
able,  calm,  impartial  and  charitable.  We  have  done  our  part  to 
maintain  unity  in  supporting  the  Church  at  a  most  critical  period. 
Catholics  have  supported  our  efforts  with  enthusiasm.  That  is  some 
consolation  for  our  conscience,  even  if  it  be  not  all  to  the  good." 

The  letter  to  "his  dear  collaborator  "  announced  the  end  of  the 
month,  the  3ist  August,  as  the  last  date  for  the  appearance  of  the 
paper.  Was  it  Ozanam  who  induced  the  management  of  the  paper  to 
re-consider  its  decision  and  who  had  it  rescinded  ?  There  are  good 
grounds  for  so  believing.  At  all  events  The  New  Era  continued  to 
appear  until  April  in  the  following  year.  Pere  Lacordaire  was  now 


DESPOTISM  AND  THE  CHURCH  283 

only  a  friend,  but  still  a  devoted  friend,  as  would  be  apparent  before 
long.* 

It  was  not  so  with  Montalembert  In  the  generous  impulse  which 
induced  The  New  Era  to  hold  out  the  hand  of  friendship  to  democracy, 
he  saw  nothing  but  a  foolish  and  dangerous  illusion  ;  and  in  democracy 
itself  nothing  but  the  despotism  of  the  many-headed  multitude  and 
the  degradation  of  character  and  mind.  His  love  for  mother-Church 
was  terrified  at  the  monstrous  acts  of  compromise,  which  the  uprise 
of  the  Italian  mob  made  necessary.  He  now  declared  therefore  that 
he  had  only  accepted  the  fact  of  the  Republic  from  necessity  and 
conditionally,  and  that  it  had  not  his  confidence.  He  spurned  it  from 
him. 

It  was  indeed  a  sad  moment  for  Ozanam  when  he  saw  Montalembert 
ally  himself  with  the  Univers  to  beat  down  the  poor  little  flag  with 
the  Cross  standing  on  the  rampart.f 

The  terror  created  by  the  revolution,  which  was  everywhere  either 
supreme  or  threatening,  had  paved  the  way  for  despotism.  Ozanam 
in  his  jealous  love  for  the  independence  and  dignity  of  the  Church, 
feared  nothing  so  much  as  that.  He  had  seen,  in  the  light  of  his 
historical  research,  absolute  power  undertake  the  duty  of  making  the 
Church  subject  to  itself  in  order  to  annex  it :  "  There  were  first," 
he  says  in  a  beautiful  sketch  written  in  his  younger  days,  "  the  Em 
perors  of  the  East,  who  sought  to  make  the  Church  a  Patriarchate 
subject  to  their  autocracy.  Then  came  the  barbarians,  who  pressed 
her  to  unite  with  them  in  the  destruction  of  the  old  Roman  Empire  : 
there  were  the  great  feudal  lords,  who  sought  to  clothe  her  with  steel : 
next  came  Kings,  who  invited  her  to  take  her  place  in  Parliaments 
which  they  controlled  with  whip  and  spur.  Finally  there  are  the  modern 
founders  of  representative  institutions,  who  condescend  to  reserve  a 

*Pere  Lacordaire  wrote  as  follows  from  Chalais  to  Madame  Swetchine  on  the 
24th  October,  1848  :  "  You  are  aware,  of  course,  that,  though  I  have  resigned 
from  the  management  of  The  New  Era,  I  approve  of  the  paper  and  shall 
collaborate  with  it  as  far  as  my  position  as  a  priest  will  permit  me.  ...  If 
I  have  left  the  Press  and  the  Platform  for  fear  of  going  to  extremes,  to  return 
altogether  to  my  religious  ministry,  that  is  a  simple  act  of  prudence,  not  of  re 
pudiation.  I  have  left  the  field  to  others  younger  and  more  daring  than  I. 
They  will  hold  the  ground  on  their  own  responsibility  and  I  ought  not  to  do 
anything  to  weaken  or  divide  them."  (Correspondence  with  Madame  Swetchine, 
p.  478). 

|See  for  the  details  of  this  split  the  well  documented  book  of  M.  Henri  Boissard  : 
Theophile  Foisset,  pp.  104,  etc.,  Paris,  chez  Plon,  1891.  Ed.  Lettres  de  Lacor 
daire  to  M.  Foisset,  Vol.  II.,  Letters,  104,  105,  106. 


2*4  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

seat  in  an  Upper  Chamber  for  her,  but  who  storm  if  she  does  not  square 
her  ideals  within  the  narrow  groove  of  their  administration,  if  she  does 
not  run  up  their  transient  flag  on  secular  basilicas.  But  the  Church 
has  never  accepted  the  position  of  being  either  imperial,  barbarian, 
feudal,  royal,  or  liberal,  because  she  is  more  than  the  sum  of  all  those', 
she  is  Catholic.  Even  as  the  claimants  for  Penelope,  seeing  her  alone 
in  the  world,  and  hoping  to  win  her  for  a  spouse  and  to  reign  in  her 
name,  offered  her  in  vain  riches  and  power ;  so  the  immortal  spouse 
spurns  such  unworthy  offers  of  union." 

Those  unworthy  alliances  had  too  long  united  Church  and  State. 
This  much  must  be  clearly  understood  ;  Ozanam's  republicanism  was 
largely  made  up  of  his  horror  of  the  existing  state  of  things.  This 
was  none  other  than  Gallicanism,*  those  secular  chains,  the  scars  of 
which  the  Church  still  bore.  Feet  and  hands  seemed  held  out  to  him 
in  appeal.  Ozanam  was  looking  on  at  a  mad  re-action  precipitat 
ing  itself  forward  to  join  hands  with  what  was  regarded  as  a  liberating, 
but  which  was  in  fact  an  unlimited,  and  unbridled  despotism,  which 
would  destroy  at  once  both  the  Republic  and  liberty.  He  wrote  : 
'  My  dear  friend,  I  am  very  uneasy  at  the  state  of  affairs  in  which 
we  find  ourselves,  and  which  has  driven  the  supporters  of  the  Restora 
tion  to  impossible  lengths.  If  you  were  to  know  the  illusions  and  to 
hear  the  language  of  some,  I  will  not  say  mature,  but  young  men 
and  statesmen  of  from  twenty  five  to  thirty  years  of  age,  who,  in  their 
fanaticism  desire  neither  constitution,  nor  national  representation 
nor  Press  !  The  worst  of  it  all  is  that  religion  is  compromised  by  these 
madmen,  by  those  who  make  it  a  point  of  honour  to  defend  her  in  the 

*The  growth  of  a  movement  in  France  (1)  to  enlarge  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Church  and  to  restrict  proportionately  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See  • 
and  (2)  to  exalt  the  authority  of  a  General  Council  and  to  depress  correspond 
ingly  that  of  the  Pope. 

The  first  feature  was  concerned  with  the  growing  power  of  the  Kings  of  France 
to  appoint  to  vacant  benefices,  and  reached  a  crisis  in  a  dispute  between  Louis 
XIV  and  Innocent  XI  with  regard  to  the  appointment  of  Crown  nominees  in 
Sees  of  Aleth  and  Pamiers.  Louis  XIV  convened  an  assembly  of  the  French 
Clergy  in  1682  which  passed  the  Four  Prepositions  cj  the  Gallican  Clergy.  The 
first  three  propositions  declare  the  supremacy  of  the  King  in  temporals  •  the 
fourth  declared  that  the  Pope  has  the  principal  share  in  questions  of  faith 
"  nevertheless  his  judgment  is  not  irreformable  unless  the  consent  of  the  Church 
be  added."  This  was  to  exalt  the  authority  of  a  General  Council  over  that 

the  Pope.  The  definition  of  the  Infallibility  of  the  Pope  has  made  the  doc 
trinal  basis  of  Gallicanism  formal  heresy,  and  the  subsequent  course  of  events 
has  made  it  unlikely  that  the  Gallican  temper,  in  relation  to  the  supreme  ecclesias 
tical  authority  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  civil  power  on  the  other  will  ever  re 
appear  in  any  large  scale  in  the  Church. 


CATHOLICS  AND  THE   STATE  285 

House,  and  who  afterwards  fill  the  corridors  of  the  Opera  with  an 
account  of  their  adventures." 

What  Ozanam  foresaw,  and  what  made  him  tremble  for  the  future 
of  the  Church  in  France  was  the  policy  of  reprisals  which  this  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance  with  despotism  was  to  expose  her  to  :  "  My 
dear  friend,  everyone  dreams  now  only  of  the  alliance  of  Church  and 
State.  No  one  remembers  the  terrible  reprisals  which  those  pretty 
doctrines  exposed  us  to  in  1830.  To-day,  there  is  not  a  follower  of 
Voltaire,  burdened  with  an  income  on  a  few  thousand  pounds  of  War 
Stock,  who  would  not  send  everyone  to  Mass  provided  he  is  not  asked 
to  attend  it  himself." 

If  the  man  of  honour  was  in  revolt,  the  Christian  was  in  despair 
at  the  scandal  to  souls  and  at  the  terrible  re-action  which  was  threaten 
ing  :  "  I  see  with  grief  (oh  !  that  sublime  grief)  the  slackening  of  that 
glad  return  to  the  Church,  which  was  the  joy  of  my  youth  and  the  hope 
of  my  mature  years.  I  ask  myself  if,  in  twenty  years'  time  from  now, 
we  shall  be  able  to  worship  before  the  altar  without  hearing  those  shouts 
and  cat-calls,  which,  twenty  years  ago,  followed  the  faithful  into  the 
very  Church  ?  Let  us  watch  and  pray." 

The  moral  situation  for  The  New  Era  became  daily  worse.  Suspi 
cion  and  despondency  were  at  work.  The  position  would  have  been 
intolerable  for  Ozanam  if  he  had  not  had  for  his  support  two  of  the 
greatest  and  best  militant  Catholics  of  the  time,  and  both,  one  lay 
and  the  other  a  Friar,  men  of  God. 

Pere  Lacordiare,  one  of  the  two,  expressed  in  his  correspondence 
his  regret  at  seeing  "  the  clergy  and  the  Catholics  of  France  responding 
so  badly  to  the  advances  of  the  February  regime,  which  had  been  so 
extraordinarily  generous.  Any  turning  back  would  disgrace  them. 
They  would  then  appear  as  weather-cocks  in  the  wind  of  favour. 
"As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  have  accepted  the  Republic  sincerely, 
without  having  had  any  pre-existing  or  surviving  sentiment  in  its 
favour.  But  whatever  happens  I  must  have  regard  to  what  I  have 
done." 

M.  Foisset  in  the  Correspondant  just  as  Lacordaire,  expressed  his 
opinion  that  the  honour  of  Catholics  was  involved  in  standing  their 
ground,  and  in  not  withdrawing  through  fear  their  loyal  support  from 
a  form  of  government,  of  which  they  had  no  reason  to  complain. 
"  The  New  Era,"  he  wrote  on  the  nth  November,  1848,  to  Montalem- 
bert,  "  is  republican.  So  much  the  better.  I  do  not  see  frankly 


286  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

what  religion  stands  to  gain  by  establishing  a  general  state  ol  antagon 
ism  between  Catholics  and  Republicans.  There  are  in  the  ranks  of 
the  latter,  as  elsewhere,  souls  to  be  saved,  and  I  should  not  wish  that 
the  idea  of  irreconcilable  enmity  between  the  Church  and  Democracy 
should  make  the  return  of  those  souls  to  God  or  the  doing  of  justice 
by  the  Government  to  the  Catholic  cause,  more  difficult." 

Foisset  was  still  closer  in  thought  to  Ozanam  when  he  gave  it  as 
his  opinion  "  that  there  was  a  more  urgent  work  to  hand  for  Catholics 
than  violent  reaction,  and  that  was  to  strive  with  all  their  might  and 
main  to  remove  the  hostility  of  the  mass  by  giving  themselves  over 
completely  to  the  consolation  of  those  in  suffering." 

"  The  middle  class  makes  me  despair,"  he  writes  again  to  the  same, 
"it  is  more  selfish  than  ever.  It  clings  to  earth  without  wishing  to 
hear  of  aught  else,  without  seeing  whence  comes  evil,  without  as  much 
as  suspecting  the  remedy.  We  must  still  pass  through  sacrifice,  and 
yet  the  lesson  of  June  was  quite  evident.  The  clergy  are  continuing 
in  their  groove  ;  it  does  not  appear  to  me  that  they  are  making 
sufficient  capital  out  of  the  martyrdom  of  the  Archbishop,  nor  that 
they  are  sufficiently  mindful  of  the  Evangelisation  of  the  Poor.  The 
episcopacy  appears  to  be  stunned." 

The  Univers,  on  the  other  hand,  stormed  against  The  New  Era, 
which  they  now  christened  The  New  Error.  It  occurred  to  Foisset 
to  intervene  with  Louis  Veuillot,  whose  ear  he  had.  Veuillot  under 
stood  that  wise  man  and  that  good  friend  and  hearkened  to  him. 
He  replied  as  follows  on  the  i8th  November :  "  You  will  receive  my 
last  article  on  The  New  Era.  I  hope  that  you  will  not  dislike  it  too 
much.  If  I  have  left  some  expressions  in  it  which  cloud  the  brows 
of  angels  of  peace,  it  is  contrary  to  my  desire  and  through  necessity. 
If  I  had  not  feared  some  papas  like  you,  who  are  always  present  to 
my  mind  even  when  invisible,  I  should  have  slashed  away  like  the 
Journal  des  Debats."  The  swordsman  slashed,  but  with  reserve. 

It  was  not  so  easy  to  bring  Montalembert  to  reason  "who,"  accord 
ing  to  Foisset's  biographer,  "  felt  his  contempt  growing  daily  for  a 
handful  of  journalists  who  storm  for  the  support  of  a  government 
flung  up  by  chance  and  repudiated  by  the  country."  Pere  Lacordaire 
was  greatly  affected.  His  grief  was  further  increased  when  The 
Friend  of  Religion,  which  had  been  recently  resurrected  by  the  Abbe 
Dupanloup,  published  first  one,  then  a  second,  letter  from  Montalem 
bert  attacking  The  New  Era  :  "  I  do  not  understand,"  Pere  Lacordaire 


DEATH   OF   POLITICAL   HOPES  287 

wrote  to  Madame  Swetchine  on  the  7th  November,  "  this  grand  assault. 
The  New  Era  may  have  deserved  critics,  it  does  not  deserve  an  attack 
which  may  stagger  Christianity.  It  is  very  sad  to  see  friends  playing 
that  role,  which  was  hitherto  played  only  by  the  mediocre  and  jealous- 
minded,  who  were  ever  ready  to  regard  as  heterodox  every  opinion 
which  was  not  theirs,  and  as  an  enemy,  every  man  who  disagreed 
with  them.  It  is  a  step  which  can  only  lead  to  discord." 

He  wrote  at  the  same  time  of  Ozanam  and  his  collaborators :  "  Is 
it  for  us  to  declare  war  against  honourable  Catholics,  who  are  rendering 
good  service  by  being  more  democratic  than  we,  and  who  thus  prove 
to  the  world  that  the  Church  can  work  with  all  forms  of  government  ?" 

Pere  Lacordaire  was  however  so  deeply  wounded,  that  Foisset  had 
reason  to  fear  a  rupture  between  his  two  friends. 

Ozanam  kept  silence.  Did  he  think  that  he  ought  to  do  so,  when 
he  found  himself  in  opposition  to  the  great  man  whom  he  could  never 
cease  to  love  and  honour  ?  His  suffering  was  great.  His  spirit  was 
in  mourning  at  that  moment  for  the  death  of  all  his  political  hopes. 
He  unbosomed  his  sad  heart  at  times  in  his  professorial  Chair,  at  times 
in  his  journal.  When  he  resumed  his  Chair  on  his  return  from  holi 
days  in  1848  he  found  around  him  "  the  large  and  fraternal  gathering 
of  young  men  "  who  never  failed  him.  He  spoke  to  them  as  follows  : 

"  Last  year,  gentlemen,  I  opened  this  course  of  Italian  Literature 
under  the  happiest  auspices.  I  had  just  returned  from  Italy.  I 
had  seen  from  the  balcony  of  the  Quirinal  the  whole  city  of  Rome 
applauding  the  reconciliation  of  the  Church  and  Modern  Society. 
I  had  been  present  at  the  first  joys  of  the  renaissance  :  the  people 
marching  on  to  liberty  on  roads  strewn  with  flowers  :  wise  men  in 
augurating  that  political  and  military  education,  which,  in  a  few  years, 
was  to  make  Italy  mistress  of  her  destiny. 

"  To-day  the  cause  of  independence  is  crushed  by  the  big  battalions. 
The  cause  of  liberty  is  dishonoured  in  Rome  by  ingratitude  and  assassin 
ation.  The  liberty  of  the  world  is  compromised  with  that  of  the 
spiritual  head  of  men's  consciences.  It  is  again  ostracism,  despotism 
and  all  that  recalls  the  worst  of  those  ingrate  lands,  where  even  the 
bodies  of  their  great  citizens  from  Scipio  to  Gregory  VII,  are  not 
allowed  to  rest  !  " 

One  city,  however,  was  still  standing  amid  those  disasters,  Venice, 
and  under  the  protection  of  its  marshes  offered  a  desperate  resistance 
to  Austria.  Ozanam  made  an  appeal  on  behalf  of  the  heroic  queen 


288  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

of  the  seas  :  "  Let  us  inaugurate,  gentlemen,  this  year's  course  with 
one  good  action."  He  recalled  the  fact  that  Venice  had  offered  a 
home  to  Pius  IX.,  and  had  taken  to  her  arms  all  that  remained  of  the 
hopes  of  Italian  liberty,  which  she  would  neither  barter  for  gold  nor 
for  the  blood  of  her  children.  "  But  her  own  resources  cannot  suffice 
for  such  a  prolonged  and  unequal  struggle.  A  subscription  list  has 
been  opened  for  her  pressing  need.  Many  will  subscribe  for  the  sake 
of  her  ancient  glories,  many  others  for  the  cause  which  she  is  now 
standing  for.  It  is  for  us  to  remember,  gentlemen,  her  Christian 
grandeur,  her  heroic  dead,  left  on  all  the  beaches  of  the  Archipelago 
to  save  Europe  from  the  Koran.  France's  own  needs  are  stupendous  ; 
but  she  is  no  poorer  than  the  widow  in  the  Gospel,  and  she  will  not 
refuse  her  mite  to  whomsoever  asks  for  it  in  the  names  of  God  and 
fraternity." 

The  fraternity  of  the  French  Republic  did  not  respond  to  that 
appeal  in  The  New  Era.  It  was  almost  the  only  appeal  made  for  the 
city  of  St.  Mark.  Daniel  Manin,  President  of  the  Venetian  Republic, 
thanked  Ozanam  publicly  in  the  Official  Gazette,  on  behalf  of  that  city 
which  was  alas  !  abandoned  by  Europe,  bombarded  by  cannon,  and 
decimated  by  cholera.  Manin  departed  into  exile,  and  with  him 
disappeared  the  only  figure  of  truly  heroic  mould,  which  the  Italian 
Revolution  had  thrown  up. 

Ozanam  was  indeed  justified  in  writing  later  to  the  Venetian  noble 
man,  Tomaseo  :  "  The  management  of  The  New  Era  may  have  been 
at  times  wanting  in  worldly  prudence,  but  God  never  let  them  be 
found  wanting  in  love  of  justice,  of  the  poor,  of  your  fair  land  of  Italy, 
and  of  her  glorious  defenders." 

The  august  head  of  Pius  IX.  in  Rome,  menaced  by  insurrection, 
outraged  by  ingratitude,  remained  none  the  less  for  Ozanam  crowned 
with  the  glory  of  the  great  measures  of  political  reform,  which  had 
heralded  the  commencement  of  his  reign.  I  extract  the  following  note 
from  a  lecture  in  the  1849  course  : — "  The  complications  of  the  present 
and  the  future  do  not  deprive  Pius  IX.  of  the  merit  of  having  volun 
tarily  surrendered  absolute  power,  of  having  defended  the  principle 
of  nationality  in  his  letter  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  and  of  having 
taken  the  initiative  in  reforms  which  would  have  been  crowned  with 
success,  if  Pius  IX.  had  not  had  in  that  land,  where  education  is  not 
organised,  as  many  enemies  of  his  beneficence  as  of  his  authority." 

Pius  IX.  was  at  that  time  a  fugutive  at  Gaeta.     Ozanam  published 


PETER'S   PENCE  289 

in  The  New  Era,  in  the  month  of  January,  1849,  an  appeal  to  the 
Catholics  of  France  for  the  august  exile  :  "  Pius  IX.  does  not  ask  for 
himself.  The  man  who,  on  his  first  coming  reduced  his  stables  by 
one-half,  who  exhausted  his  own  private  means  in  charity,  has  not 
waited  for  the  hour  of  trial  to  strip  himself  of  his  property.  All  who 
have  had  the  honour  of  coming  into  contact  with  him  know  well  how 
little  it  would  cost  him  personally  to  go  back  to  the  fishing-nets  of  St. 
Peter  and  the  obscurity  of  the  catacombs.  It  is  not  long  since  he  was 
heard  saying  that  he  would  thank  God  as  long  as  he  would  be  left  a 
wallet  and  a  stick,  free  to  go  everywhere  and  bless  the  people  as  he 
went.  But  leaving  out  of  question  the  Pope  himself,  there  are  ad 
ministrative  departments  and  institutions  under  his  care,  the  func 
tioning  of  which  constitutes  the  religious  government  of  Christianity. 
Their  maintenance  is  not  only  an  act  of  charity,  but  an  act  of  faith  in 
the  vitality  of  the  Church." 

The  appeal  was  especially  directed  to  those  of  large  means  for  a  large 
subscription  :  "  The  Holy  Father  will  see  the  great  names  of  France 
at  the  head  of  the  list.  The  appeal  honours  them,  the  donation  will 
bring  them  blessings.  O  Holy  Father,  in  stretching  out  to  us  that 
hand  which  so  many  lips  have  kissed,  you  will  confer  on  us  much  more 
than  you  will  receive." 

Generous  Christians  decided  that  the  moment  had  arrived  to  re 
suscitate  the  old  time  Peter's  Pence.     His  Grace  Dr.  Sibour  issued  a 
Pastoral  dealing  with  the  matter,  ordered  public  prayers  and  called 
together  a  meeting  of  the  Catholic  Circle,  at  which  an  Address  to  the 
Pope  was  drawn  up  and  an  organising  committee  appointed.    Ozanam 
was  a  member  of  it.     In  addition  to  his  eloquent  appeal  in  The  New 
Era,  he  made  a  collection  at  his  Monday  lecture  on  the  23rd  January, 
1849.     He  first  delivered  an  address,  recalling  the  benefits  which 
Pius  IX.  has  conferred  on  Italy  and  on  Christianity,  which  he  con 
cluded  in  these  words  :  "  But  there  is  more  at  stake  here  than  the 
interests  of  Italy.     All  civilisation  is  involved,  and  it  cannot  allow 
the  independence  of  a  spiritual  power  which  holds  sway  over  the 
consciences  of  two  hundred  million  human  beings  to  disappear.     The 
future  of  society  is  concerned  ;  it  is  wearied  with  a  surfeit  of  agitation, 
it  can  only  find  rest  in  the  reconciliation  of  Christianity  and  Liberty. 
We  have  been  working  at  the  Statue  of  Liberty,  gentlemen,  for  the 
last  sixty  years.     A  shapeless  figure  appeared  at  our  first  efforts, 
and  everyone  thought  that  it  would  result  in  a  monstrosity.    To-day 


290  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

the  radiant  head  can  be  seen  with  new  features  of  gentle  aspect,  and 
the  uneasiness  of  the  multitude  is  reassured.  There  are  yet  many 
who  say  in  passing  '  It  is  only  stone,  it  has  no  life.'  Gentlemen,  we 
must  give  it  life  ;  we  must  seek  life  for  it  where  Prometheus  sought 
and  found  it,  in  Heaven.  Christianity  will  be  the  soul  of  Liberty." 

The  New  Era  was  in  extremities  since  the  retirement  of  Pere  Lacor- 
daire  ;  it  had  not  ceased  to  struggle  rather  for  honour  than  for  victory  : 
"If  it  had  ceased  to  appear  in  September,  1848,"  wrote  Ozanam, 
"  it  could  have  been  said  that  Catholics,  a  band  of  timid  time-servers, 
had  a  republican  journal  as  long  as  the  Republic  was  a  power,  but  that 
they  had  been  in  a  hurry  to  veer  round  with  the  wind  of  fortune. 
It  is  now  clear,  after  six  months'  struggle,  after  many  insults  suffered 
and  pardoned,  that  there  is  among  French  Catholics  a  sincerity  which 
can  endure  sacrifice  but  not  cowardice,  which  is  not  swayed  by  selfish 
ness,  by  ambition  or  by  pride." 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  Ozanam  did  not  contribute 
regularly  to  The  New  Era  from  January,  1849.  He  wrote  on  the  nth 
March  :  "It  is  now  some  months  since  I  have  contributed  to  The 
New  Era.  I  have  a  book  to  finish,  and  my  course  of  lectures  occupies 
all  my  time.  But  all  my  good  wishes  are  with  the  paper.  I  must 
confess,  however,  that  the  same  thing  happens  with  that  paper  that 
happens  with  others,  viz.  :  That  articles  appear  at  times  in  its  columns 
with  which  I  do  not  altogether  agree."  His  brother  informs  us  that 
"  certain  contributors  wished  to  imbue  The  New  Era  with  more 
decided  tendencies  in  the  democratic  direction." 

Were  there  not  also  those  who  went  so  far  as  to  claim  that  Chris 
tianity  and  democracy  were  one  ?  Montalembert  was  up  in  arms  at 
once  :  "  No,  Christianity  which  will  work  with  every  form  of  govern 
ment,  will  not  be  identified  with  any.  That  must  be  unflinchingly 
and  unceasingly  proclaimed,  face  to  face  with  the  arrogant  pride  of 
the  pigmies  of  our  days.  I  heard  constantly  in  my  youth  that  Chris 
tianity  and  monarchy  were  the  same  thing,  and  that  one  could  not 
be  a  good  Christian  without  being  a  good  Royalist.  I  have  fought  for 
twenty  years,  not  without  a  measure  of  success,  against  that  former 
error  which  is  now  no  more.  I  shall  fight  another  twenty  against 
the  new  claim,  which  confounds  Christianity  and  democracy, 
another  form  of  the  same  blind  idolatry  of  victory,  force,  and 
fortune." 

But  have  we  not  a  short  while  ago  read  something  similar  in  Ozanam' s 


END   OF  "  THE  NEW   ERA  "  291 

writings  :  "  The  Church  will  never  be  regarded  as  imperial,  feudal, 
royal,  or  liberal,  because  she  is  greater  than  the  sum  of  all  that,  she  is 
Catholic." 

A  month  later,  on  the  gth  April,  1849,  The  New  Era  announced 
that  it  would  not  again  appear.  A  Declaration  signed  by  the  whole 
management,  with  Ozanam  at  their  head,  gave  reasons  for  their 
action,  furnished  a  statement  of  their  principles,  and  reviewed  the 
different  phases  through  which  the  paper  had  passed.  That  Declara 
tion  maintained  a  high  tone  and  exhibited  great  breadth  of  mind. 
Ozanam' s  hand  is  recognisable  in  it. 

It  first  indicated  the  nature  of  the  undertaking.  It  was  not  a 
commercial  paper.  The  nobility  of  its  design,  namely,  the  applica 
tion  of  Christian  principles  to  modern  society  with  a  view  to  the 
happiness  of  man  through  respect  for  his  dignity  and  his  liberty.  It 
referred  to  the  opposition  aroused  by  the  word  democracy,  which  was 
naturally  regarded  with  suspicion  by  men  of  good  will,  when  they 
found  it  invoked  by  triumphant  anarchy  in  Italy  and  elsewhere. 
'  Yet  who  can  deny  the  sincerity  and  indignation  with  which  we 
condemned  the  revolution  in  Rome,  which  was  inaugurated  by 
assassination  and  undermined  by  ingratitude  ?" 

"  Now  while,  notwithstanding  attacks  and  misunderstandings, 
The  New  Era  was  marching  on  steadily  to  its  goal,  a  new  grouping 
of  political  parties  threatened  danger.  The  course  of  events,  which 
cannot  subvert  doctrine,  but  which  can  seduce  the  many-headed 
multitude,  appeared  to  place  the  government  of  an  honest  Republic 
in  the  wrong.  The  majority  went  that  way.  The  New  Era  suffered 
the  inevitable  consequence  of  that  defection.  But  each  one  had  done 
his  duty.  God,  for  Whom  alone  men  of  faith  and  courage  devote 
themselves  to  the  hard  business  of  writing,  of  fighting,  of  being  mis 
understood,  and  of  being  misrepresented,  asks  nothing  more." 

"  The  first  Board  of  Management  of  the  paper,  united  to-day  as 
from  the  first,  resigns  in  a  body.  Their  farewell  breathes  neither 
discouragement  nor  repentance.  We  do  not  resign  in  consequence  of 
the  violence  of  the  attacks,  nor  of  that  feeling  of  scepticism  which 
has  succeeded  more  than  once  in  infecting  the  very  defenders  of  liberty. 
We  resign  in  consequence  of  material  difficulties,  in  which  God  has 
perhaps  hidden  His  design  for  the  fructification  of  our  doctrines, 
even  as  the  very  hoar-frosts,  which  drive  the  sower  home,  fructify 
the  wheat." 


292  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

The  signatories  are  :  (Rev.)  H.  Maret,  Ozanam,  Audley,  Eug.  Rcndu 
Gouraud,  Feugeray,  L.  F.  Guerin. 

Some  days  later,  on  the  8th  May,  Ozanam,  forwarding  a  copy  of  the 
Declaration  to  M.  Prosper  Dugas,  added  the  necessary  explanation  : 
"It  has  been  bruited  around  that  the  management  retired  on  the  ad 
vice  of  the  ecclesiastical  authority.  There  is  no  truth  whatever  in 
the  rumour.  His  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  his  cousin,  the  Abbe 
Sibour,  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  Buquet,  Vicar-General,  have,  on  the 
contrary,  expressed  to  us  their  keen  regret  at  seeing  the  demise  of  this 
paper,  a  paper  which  they  regarded  as  necessary  for  the  defence  of 
religion.  Motives  of  delicacy  do  not  allow  us  to  publish  the  measure 
of  the  sympathy  which  we  have  received  from  the  episcopate.  //  / 
can  err  in  politics  I  have  no  fear  of  erring  in  religion,  when  we  have  on 
our  side  such  men  as  the  Abbe  Maret,*  the  Abbe  Gerbet,  Pere 
Lacordaire,  who,  even  when  he  ceased  to  contribute,  did  not  cease  to 
encourage  us  with  his  good  wishes  or  to  aid  us  with  his  counsel. 

It  was  during  the  last  days  of  Lent  that  The  New  Era  ceased  to 
appear.  Ozanam  was  humiliated,  but  not  crushed,  by  its  dis 
appearance.  Writing  to  his  mother-in-law  on  Holy  Saturday,  he  told 
her  of  the  sweet  consolation  which  his  wearied  and  disappointed  spirit 
was  rinding  that  week,  in  the  familiar  society  of  Jesus  and  in  the 
expectation  of  His  divine  visit :  "  O,  dear  mother,  after  the  griefs,  the 
struggles,  and  the  defeats  of  this  life,  how  consoling  it  is  to  enjoy  these 
brief  moments  of  peace,  reclining,  like  St.  John,  on  the  bosom  of  Our 
Saviour.  When  the  head  is  worn  out  with  work,  and  the  heart  is 
embittered  by  controversy  and  disappointment,  one  leaves  the  petty 
rivalry  of  men  and  contact  with  wicked  passions,  to  aspire  to  the  peace 
of  these  holy  days  !  How  very  good  it  will  be  to  come  to  the  feet  of 
the  kind  Master,  who  awaits  us  to-morrow  morning." 

The  great  sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  peace  having  been  made,  we  find 
Ozanam  hastening  to  hold  out  his  hands  to  his  Lyons  friends,  who  were 
not  of  his  way  of  thinking,  by  showing  himself  less  assertive  :  "  The 
truth  is,  my  dear  friend,"  he  wrote  to  M.  Dugas,  "  that  divine  Pro- 


*The  Abb6,  later  Monsignor  Maret,  Dean  of  the  Sorbonne,  in  the  year  1870,  on 
the  eve  of  a  Vatican  Council  did,  it  is  true,  err  on  the  subject  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  Church  in  two  volumes  entitled  :  Of  the  General  Council  and  of  Religious 
Peace.  But  as  soon  as  he  was  notified  of  his  error  he  hastened  to  withdraw  his 
work  from  publication  and  to  make  his  submission  to  the  Holy  See.  Monsignor 
Pie  described  that  submission  as  "  very  detailed,  very  complete  and  very 
honourable." 


END   OF   POLITICAL  ACTIVITIES  293 

vidence  has  not  yet  unlocked  the  secret  of  that  terrible  year,  1848  ; 
that  even  the  best  intentioned  minds  can  err  in  regard  to  it,  and  that 
the  wisest  course  for  Christians  is  not  to  hate  one  another  for  the  sake 
of  matters  of  controversy." 

In  view  of  the  political  differences  between  the  President  and  the 
Assembly  his  early  confidence  seemed  to  weaken.  "If  that  be  the 
goal  to  which  God  is  leading  the  world,"  he  wrote  to  the  same,  "  I 
admit  that  He  is  leading  it  over  rough  waj^s.  If  I  still  believe  in 
democracy,  it  is  in  spite  of  excesses  which  disgust  honest  men." 

In  the  same  letter  he  refers  to  the  obscurity  of  the  questions  :  "  Face 
to  face  with  the  formidable  questions  with  which  Providence  con 
fronts  us,  and  seeing  the  obscurity  which  surrounds  them,  I,  for  my 
part,  do  not  understand  why  friends  grow  cold  and  part,  because  they 
have  regarded  such  questions  from  a  different  angle — and  solved  them 

in  a  different  way I  cannot  do  without  my  friends,  and  their 

memory  has  become  infinitely  dearer  to  me,  since  revolutions  separate 
so  many  friends  who  had  dearly  loved  each  other." 

Ozanam  also  expressed  his  pleasure  at  having  left  the  scene  of 
militant  politics  for  the  more  serene  sphere  of  study,  which  he  does 
not  intend  to  abandon  again  :  "  You  in  Lyons  must  understand  that, 
political  agitation,  in  which  I  have  been  too  much  engaged,  has  not 
taken  me  from  my  first  love,  research,  that  is  to  say  from  what  can 
hasten  the  alliance  of  science  and  religion.  Such  reconciliation 
was  never  more  needed  than  to-day,  for  peace  will  only  come  into 
our  dealings  with  one  another  when  it  has  been  first  established  in  our 
minds.  What  bitter  passions  !  What  implacable  resentment  !  Ah  ! 
It  is  full  time  that  God  let  light  into  this  chaos." 

A  few  months  later  when  the  vacation  was  at  hand,  Ozanam  received 
orders  from  his  doctors  to  go  to  the  mountains  for  a  change  of  air. 
All  forms  of  political  activity  were  expressly  prohibited.  He  was 
still  there  on  the  2Oth  October,  when  he  wrote  as  follows  to  his  friend 
Dufieux,  editor  of  the  Lyons  Gazette,  a  copy  of  which  he  had  just  seen  : 
'  You  ask  me  a  question  of  present  political  interest  with  which  I 
cannot  deal,  as  the  medical  faculty  have  decided,  that,  pending  further 
orders,  politics  were  not  to  concern  me." 

His  journey  via  Lyons  had  restored  him  to  the  warm  friendship 
of  his  former  comrades  :  "  That  is  the  charm  of  the  journey,"  he  wrote 
to  Janmot.  "  My  dear  friend,  repeat  that  to  our  Lyons  friends  ;  the 
memory  of  your  warm  welcome  will  not  be  forgotten  by  me  ;  it  will 


294  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

sustain  me  in  my  work  and  in  those  moments  of  depression  which 
accompany  it  too  often.  I  thought  that  I  had  some  ideas,  and  some 
work  to  do  in  this  world.  I  am  afraid  I  have  greatly  over-estimated 
myself.  Who  knows  but  that  God  is  humiliating  and  punishing  my 
pride  by  withdrawing  my  health,  by  making  me  understand  too  late 
that  I  am  nothing,  and  that  I  presumed  too  much  on  my  own  strength? " 
He  mentioned  some  of  those  friends  by  whose  friendship  his  heart  was 
warmed  :  La  Perriere,  Arthaud,  Genin,  Velay,  Laprade,  the  Catholic 
poet  and  future  member  of  the  French  Academy  ;  but  he  always  gives 
pride  of  place  to  the  Abbe  Noirot. 

He  was  in  Ferney  with  his  wife's  uncle,  "  but  so  removed  from 
public  affairs  that  he  returned  as  if  it  were  from  China.  In  the  pre 
sence  of  those  glorious  mountains  which  bound  our  horizon,  the 
quarrels  of  men  appear  to  me  to  be  very  petty,  and  I  cannot  at  all 
conceive  why  human  beings  are  so  anxious  to  tear  one  another  to 
pieces,  instead  of  enjoying  the  works  of  God."  His  only  cause  for 
displeasure  was  that  he  was  breathing  the  air  in  the  shade  of  Voltaire's 
trees  and  living  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Calvin's  city. 

As  a  set-off  to  Calvin  he  found  a  Conference  of  the  Society  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  in  Geneva,  which  had  been  established  by  Dr.  Dufresne, 
son-in-law  of  M.  Foisset.  The  eloquent  address  which  he  delivered 
to  the  Brothers  is  still  remembered.  It  was  nearly  altogether  on  the 
life  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales. 

His  stay  in  Ferney  was  cut  short  by  a  summons  to  a  meeting  of  the 
Faculty  to  nominate  a  successor  to  M.  Guizot :  "  My  attendance 
might  decide  in  favour  of  my  friend,  Wallon.  Apart  from  considera 
tions  of  friendship,  it  was  a  question  of  putting  a  Catholic  and  an  ex 
cellent  Professor  into  the  Chair  of  Modern  History.  My  duty  was  to 
go  by  the  most  direct  route,  not  passing  through  Lyons.  I  arrived 
in  Paris  on  Thursday.  The  next  day  we  nominated  Wallon." 

When  Ozanam  was  requested  on  his  return  to  again  step  into  the 
gap  of  danger  in  the  editing  of  a  new  paper  le  Moniteur  religieux,  in  col 
laboration  with  the  Abbe  Gerbet  and  under  the  patronage  of  His  Grace 
the  Archbishop,  he  declined  to  do  more  than  contribute  a  few  oc 
casional  articles  :  "  You  must  not  think,"  he  wrote,  "  that  I  am  again 
going  to  take  up  journalism.  I  have  experienced  its  bitterness.  The 
present  time  has  nothing  attractive  enough  to  draw  me  away  from 
the  Barbarians  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Church." 

The  Republic  finished  its  existence  on  the  2nd  December,  1851. 


ILLUSIONS  295 

It  was  not  an  absolute  Monarchy  that  replaced  it,  but  an  autocratic 
Empire.  Montalembert  had  not  waited  for  that  catastrophe  to  detach 
himself  from  him  whom  he  called  "  his  Prince  "  and  to  return  to  his 
friend.  He  wrote  as  follows  to  Madame  Ozanam  the  day  after  her 
husband's  death  :  "  A  different  appreciation  of  the  disasters  of  1848  had 
separated  us  for  the  time  being  without  making  us  enemies.  In  the 
course  of  subsequent  events,  which  enlightened  both  our  minds,  we 
instinctively  sought  each  other  out.  After  that  we  were  of  one  mind." 

Thus  finished  The  New  Era  after  a  short  but  brilliant  twelve 
months  existence.  "  They  had  provided  an  eloquent  medium  of  ex 
pression  for  the  Party  of  Confidence,  and  a  lead  to  such  Catholics  as 
were  unwilling  to  despair  of  a  critical  situation,  and  who  were  aiming 
at  securing  for  the  Church  her  place  in  the  triumph  of  democracy. 
Misunderstood,  violently  attacked,  ultimately  undone  by  the  course 
of  events  which  played  into  the  hands  of  disorder  and  force,  the 
enterprise  of  a  handful  of  noble-minded  Catholics  could  not  succeed. 
But  it  sustained  courage  and  upheld  progressive  and  noble  ideals  in 
very  difficult  times." 

Ozanain  devoted  faith  and  charity  to  it,  his  faith  in  God  and  his 
charity  for  the  people.  But  did  he  not  mistake  illusions  for  hopes  ? 
Was  it  not  an  illusion  in  the  first  place,  to  compare  the  barbarity  of 
the  masses  of  to-day,  who  have  denied  God  and  reverted  to  paganism 
in  beliefs  and  morals,  with  virgin  races  who  knew  not  Jesus  Christ, 
but  who  could  be  converted  to  Him  ?  Was  it  not  also  an  illusion  to 
regard  them  as  sufficiently  responsible  and  conscientious  in  the  dis 
charge  of  a  public  duty,  to  place  in  their  hand  the  two-edged  sword 
of  universal  suffrage  ?  He  lived  to  see  the  use  that  was  made  of  it. 
Was  it  not  also  an  illusion  to  identify  two  things,  very  dissimilar  in 
themselves,  a  republic  and  liberty  ?  Generous  illusions,  but  none  the 
less  dangerous.  He  is  to  be  excused  for  he  could  not  see  what  we  have 
seen.  History  will  award  due  merit  to  his  motives  and  his  activities, 
as  God,  I  hope,  has  already  given  him  his  reward. 

To-day,  when,  realising  the  conviction  and  fulfilling  the  prophecy  of 
Ozanam,  the  democratic  regime  has  prevailed  anew  and  the  Republic 
has  returned  not  in  the  form  of  liberty,  but  in  that  of  the  worst  of 
tyrannies,  no  longer  honourable  and  decent  but  corrupt  and  impious, 
nay,  even  disastrous,  what  conclusions  are  to  be  drawn  from  the 
Christian  democracy  and  republicanism  of  Ozanam,  of  The  New 
Era,  of  the  honourable  men  who  were  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 


296  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

people,  and  who  worked  for  two  full  years  in  the  Party  of  Confidence  ? 
The  first  is  this :  that  it  was  well  at  the  moment  that  true  friends 
of  the  people,  men  of  good  heart  and  good  will,  should  have  held  up 
to  France,  if  it  were  only  for  one  hour,  the  ideal  and  the  project  of  a 
republic  broad-based  on  virtue,  prudence,  liberty,  honesty  and  good 
faith,  and  that  those  true  friends  of  the  people  should  have  been  pre 
eminently  servants  of  God.  The  other  conclusion  is  thrown  into  relief 
by  contrast  with  existing  conditions,  and  it  is  this :  that  there  is  not, 
nor  will  there  ever  be,  any  possible,  moral,  acceptable,  habitable  and 
durable  republic,  save  such  a  one  as  I  have  above  described,  if  it  be 
ever  to  be  found. 


297 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
BELIEF  AND  TOLERATION, 

ERNEST     HAVET. — PROTESTANTS. — "  V     Univers"— COMPLAINT     AND 
PARDON. 

Ozanam  was  above  all  and  beyond  all  a  man  of  great  faith.  J.  J. 
Ampere  says  of  him  :  "  What  Ozanam  placed  above  everything  on 
earth,  what  enabled  him  to  undertake  extraordinary  research,  to 
produce  scientific  works,  to  speak  with  rare  eloquence,  to  establish 
many  associations  of  good  works,  what  distinguished  all  his  actions 
and  words  with  an  ineffaceable  seal  was  his  great  Catholic  Faith,  the 
dominating  influence  of  his  life." 

We  have  seen  how  sacred  in  his  eyes  was  orthodoxy,  references  to 
which  constantly  occur  in  his  letters,  in  his  lectures  at  the  Sorbonne, 
and  in  the  Conferences.  Orthodoxy  should  dominate  the  proceedings 
of  every  association  ;  he  honours  the  names  of  its  loyal  members,  its 
doctors,  heroes,  and  martyrs :  all  other  interests  must  be  sacrificed 
to  it  without  sacrificing  it  to  any.  He  stated  on  one  occasion  to  those 
who  had  at  the  moment  his  future  in  their  power  :  "  I  cling  to  Catholic 
orthodoxy  more  than  to  life  itself,  loving  and  serving  with  all  my 
heart  the  Roman  Catholic  Church."  1 1  is  she,  her  leaders,  her  ministers 
whom  he  consults  and  follows.  He  is  ready  and  willing  to  tear  out  his 
most  eloquent  pages,  rather  than  that  they  should  appear  stained  by 
one  word  against  truth.  Again  :  "  Catholic  Faith  stands  for  what  it  is  ; 
we  are  not  empowered  to  deny  or  belittle  it  through  good  manners  or 
cowardice."  "  Neither  traitors  nor  cowards  !"  "  The  greatest  danger 
of  all  is  worldly  respect,  which  is  ready  to  compromise  the  integrity  of 
dogma  in  discussion  or  the  claims  of  the  Church  in  business  matters." 

A  broad  apostolic  spirit  of  toleration  was  co-existent  in  Ozanam 
with  that  doctrinal  rigidity.  It  forms  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
and  most  charming  traits  of  his  character.  Lacordaire  has  already 
dealt  with  that  feature  in  his  grand  style.  M.  Ampere,  who  had 


298  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

himself  personal  experience  of  that  side  of  Ozanam's  character,  speaks 
of  it  more  simply  thus  :  "  Toleration,  in  Ozanam,  was  not  to  be  con 
founded  with  weakness.  He  had  a  breadth  of  view  which  enabled 
him  to  appreciate  differences,  even  in  opponents.  He  had  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  men.  His  gentle  and  discreet  patience  always  suc 
ceeded  in  disarming  their  prejudices.  His  conduct  was  a  touching 
imitation  of  that  of  Our  Lord,  who  never  broke  the  bent  twig  nor 
extinguished  the  smouldering  lamp." 

M.  Ampere  was  quite  right.  Ozanam's  spirit  of  toleration  did  not 
proceed  altogether  from  his  native  courtesy,  it  was  a  fruit  of  the 
grace  of  the  Gospel  which  was  in  him.  It  was  a  bright  ray  from  the 
splendour  of  his  faith,  and  a  movement  from  the  Christian  gentleness 
of  his  soul. 

Another  writer  of  the  same  school,  Hippolyte  Rigault,  of  the  Debats 
also  attributed  to  piety  Ozanam's  spirit  of  toleration  which  delighted 
him,  as  well  as  his  orthodoxy  which  edified  him  :  "I  wish,"  he 
wrote,  "  to  insist  on  the  attractiveness  of  his  piety.  I  wish  to  show  in 
him  a  Christian,  indulgent  towards  his  neighbour,  severe  towards 
himself,  a  friend  to  noble  ideals,  a  defender  and  example  of  toleration, 
but  immovable  from  the  straight  line  of  orthodoxy  to  which  he  had 
bound  himself  in  his  early  years ;  the  worthy  grand-nephew  of  that 
Ozanam  of  the  I7th  century,  a  celebrated  mathematician,  who  said : 
'  It  is  for  the  doctors  in  the  Sorbonne  to  debate,  for  the  Pope  to  decide, 
and  for  mathematicians  to  proceed  to  Paradise  by  the  perpendicular.' 
But  a  less  profane  pen  than  mine  would  be  required  to  adequately 
portray  such  rare  virtue." 

Ozanam  showed  the  same  gentleness  in  all  his  habits  of  life,  in  his 
works  of  charity,  in  his  private  life,  in  his  public  life  as  apologist  or 
defender  of  the  faith. 

He  showed,  in  his  relations  with  his  colleagues  and  members  of  the 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  whether  visiting  or  being  visited,  no 
matter  of  what  rank  or  class,  that  cordiality  which  is  defined  and  re 
commended  by  St.  Francis  de  Sales  in  these  words  beloved  of  M. 
Gossin  :  "  Cordiality  is  a  feeling  of  pleasure  which  is  experienced  in 
the  heart  at  the  sight  of  one  who  is  beloved  ;  it  is  a  ray  of  joy  from  the 
heart  showing  that  we  are  glad  to  be  with  a  brother.  That  pleasure 
is  diffused  through  the  whole  body,  it  is  a  fruit  of  divine  love  united 
to  the  love  of  our  neighbour.  If  Charity  were  an  apple,  cordiality 
would  be  its  bloom." 


TOLERATION 


299 


Pity  had  always  the  last  word  in  his  judgments  on  men.  If  some 
one  were  discussed  in  his  presence,  who  was  bankrupt  in  truth  or  virtue, 
and  whom  one  could  only  grieve  for,  one  of  whom  it  is  said  '  He  is 
lost  !'  Ozanam  would  grieve  too,  but  always  add  :  "  After  all,  that  is 
God's  secret,  let  us  believe  that  His  secret  is  one  of  mercy." 

In  the  exercise  of  charity  he  was  very  far  from  refusing  the  co 
operation  of  Dissenters  who,  knowing  his  generosity,  placed  a  con 
fidence  in  him  which  was  reciprocated  with  a  touching  delicacy. 

Ozanam  fought  Protestantism  persistently  and  vigorously.  But 
if  Protestants  used  him  as  an  intermediary  with  the  poor,  he  was  their 
devoted  and  grateful  servant.  The  Abbe  Perreyve  relates  that  it 
occurred  to  a  young  Protestant  minister  to  entrust  a  sum  of  money, 
which  he  had  collected  among  his  co-religionists,  to  a  Catholic  Society 
of  Charity  for  distribution  among  the  poor.  Ozanam  accepted  the 
commission  with  gratitude.  He  brought  it  to  the  Conference  and 
gladly  acquainted  the  members  with  the  source  of  the  donation.  One 
of  the  members  thereupon  praised  toleration  in  religious  matters  ;  he 
proposed  to  devote  this  unusual  donation,  in  the  first  instance  to  the 
Catholic  poor,  and  the  surplus  (if  any)  to  Dissenters.  While  he  was 
speaking,  amazement  was  depicted  on  Ozanam's  face.  One  judged 
from  the  trembling  of  his  hand,  as  he  pushed  it  through  his  long  hair, 
that  his  heart  was  no  longer  able  to  control  his  impatience.  He  burst 
forth  suddenly :  "  Gentlemen,  if  this  view  should  unfortunately 
prevail,  if  it  is  not  clearly  understood  that  we  help  the  poor  without 
religious  distinction,  I  shall  go  forthwith  and  return  to  the  Protestants 
the  donation  which  they  have  given.  I  shall  say  to  them  :  '  Take 
it  back,  we  are  unworthy  of  your  confidence.'  '  The  Abbe  adds  : 
"It  was  not  necessary  to  put  it  to  the  vote." 

But  it  was  pre-eminently  in  the  demonstration  and  defence  of 
truth  by  word  and  pen,  that  the  man  of  rigid  faith  was  also  the  man  of 
all- conquering  charity.  "  The  strong  are  meek,"  says  Plato.  It  is 
exactly  because  he  was  one  of  those  "  strong  men  of  faith  "  that 
Ozanam  was  also  one  of  those  meek  of  whom  Our  Saviour  has  said 
that  "  they  shall  possess  the  land."  Thus  that  man  of  meekness 
reproved  bitterness  in  polemics,  not  merely  because  it  wounded,  but 
because  it  drove  men  away  instead  of  attracting  them.  It  will  be 
remembered  that,  in  the  conference  on  the  Literary  Duties  of  Catholics, 
when  he  had  drawn  attention  to  the  rules  of  Christian  controversy, 
which  are  respectful  and  sympathetic  towards  those  who  deny,  who 


300  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

doubt,  or  who  are  seeking  truth,  the  Archbishop  of  Paris  had  stood 
up  and  approved  his  address  in  the  name  of  the  God  of  Peace. 

Now,  in  this,  Ozanam  himself  set  an  example  to  others  and  we  shall 
say  that  happy  and  blessed  is  the  man  of  whom  the  following  supreme 
witness  can  be  given  :  "  One  of  my  greatest  consolations  in  the  decline 
of  my  career  is  the  certainty  that,  while  defending  truth  with  all  my 
might,  I  have  never  offended  anyone." 

With  those  dispositions  of  charity  and  conciliation,  Ozanam  did  not 
hesitate  to  declare  himself  a  supporter  of  the  principles  of  '89,  in  so 
far  and  no  further  as  they  were  compatible  with  the  teachings  of  the 
Gospel.  He  regarded  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity,  as  modes 
of  the  law  of  love,  three  daughters,  as  he  often  said,  born  under  the 
protection  of  the  Cross  of  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  and  of  His  divine 
Blood.  He  described  them  in  his  lectures  as  adopted  by  the  Church,  as 
enthroned  by  her  in  those  early  Christian  societies,  the  history  of  which 
he  was  sketching,  fourteen  centuries  before  the  French  Revolution 
pirated  their  names  and  misapplied  their  meaning.  Ozanam  was  theore 
tically  and  practically  devoting  all  his  efforts  to  leading  back  contem 
porary  society  to  the  original  true  and  sacred  meaning  of  those  words. 

Ozanam  had  at  his  side  in  the  Sorbonne  M.  Ernest  Havet,  just  then 
acting  for  M.  Victor  Leclerc,  and  Master  of  the  Meetings  in  the  £cole 
Normale.  He  was  exactly  of  his  own  age.  Already  well-known  for 
his  erudite  works  on  Pascal,  the  unbeliever  was  not  yet  the  master 
of  negation,  which  his  work  on  the  Origin  of  Christianity  was  to  reveal 
him  later.  He  had  been  a  curious  reader  of  The  New  Era  ;  he  had 
just  finished  reading  Civilisation  chretienne  chez  les  Francs,  and  had 
been  astonished  at  Ozanam's  statement  at  the  end  of  Chapter  VIII, 
on  the  great  part  played  by  the  Church  from  the  earliest  Merovingian 
times  in  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  commoners  and  serfs.  He  wrote 
him  a  letter  full  of  congratulations,  which  was  also  full  of  questions 
and  doubts. 

Ozanam's  reply  dated  the  22nd  of  May,  1849,  is  a  very  remarkable 
one.  A  more  striking  example  could  not  be  found  of  the  gentleness 
of  charity,  which,  pressed  to  the  furthest  limit  of  concession,  still 
safeguards  its  position,  and  then  proceeds  to  make  a  firm  profession 
of  faith.  "In  the  tempestuous  times  in  which  we  live,"  he  wrote 
his  colleague,  "  it  is  a  rare  pleasure  to  be  read,  and  to  enjoy  an  inter 
change  of  ideas,  without  an  expression  of  that  violent  dissent,  which 
keeps  so  many  great  minds  apart." 


ERNEST   HA  VET  301 

M.  Havet  appeared  as  the  champion  of  the  "  triumphs  of  modern 
liberty  and  of  the  principles  and  of  the  men  of  '89."  In  his  reply 
Ozanam  does  not  oppose  them,  if  those  triumphs  are  legitimate,  if 
the  men  of  then  and  now  are  not  of  the  number  of  those  who,  "  not 
believing  in  another  life  expect  everything  of  this,  and  who  seek  to 
reform  the  world  by  substituting  a  rule  of  pleasure,  for  that  of  sacrifice 
and  devotion."  Ozanam  could  say  to  Havet,  subject  to  an  express 
reservation  of  faith  and  Christian  morals  :  "  We  are  both  servants  of 
the  same  cause— civil  and  political— but  I  have  this  advantage  over 
you,  that  I  believe  that  cause  to  be  more  ancient  and,  therefore,  more 
sacred.  Let  me  tell  you,  my  dear  colleague,  that  if  you  had  not 
stopped  at  the  threshold  of  Christianity,  if  you  had,  as  I  have  had, 
the  happiness  of  living  within  it,  of  having  studied  it  for  eighteen 
years  ;  if  your  mind  had  been  fed  with  the  principles  of  the  Doctors 
of  the  Middle  Ages  and  of  the  Fathers,  who  are  worthy  of  your  study, 
you  would  date  from  the  Revolution  neither  liberty,  nor  equality,  nor 
fraternity,  which  come  to  us  originally  from  Calvary." 

But  would  not  that  doctrine  need  explanation  for  a  mind  imbued 
with  false  philosophy  ?  Ozanam  regrets  "that  he  finds  himself  un 
able  to  do  more  than  refer  to  matters  which  would  require  the  frank 
ness  of  a  friendly  conversation,"  which  opportunity  he  offers. 

On  the  other  hand,  did  not  M.  Havet  regard  The  New  Era  as  a  little 
Church  broken  away  from  the  parent,  "  in  order  to  raise  on  the  debris 
of  the  old  religion  a  form  of  belief,  which  would  be  better  suited  to 
modern  times?"  Ozanam  undeceives  him  by  pointing  out  that 
Pius  IX.  had  encouraged  him,  that  the  princes  of  the  Church  had 
patronised  him  :  "  As  for  me,  my  dear  colleague,  do  not  confer  on  me 
the  honour,  which  I  do  not  seek,  of  being  greater  than  my  Church, 
which  is  your  Church  also,  for  it  is  to  your  Catholic  mother,  to  your 
Catholic  ancestors,  to  all  the  traditions  of  Catholic  education,  that 
you  owe  the  elevation  of  soul,  the  gentleness,  directness,  and  firmness 
of  character  which  attracted  me.  You  do  me  too  much  honour,  but 
you  do  not  know  me  well,  when  you  believe  that  I  am  alone,  or  even 
nearly  alone,  in  holding  those  ideals  which  find  favour  with  you.  You 
desire  to  confer  distinction  on  me,  and  yet  I  am  only  a  feeble  Christian. 
You  deserve  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  those  better  than  I.  You 
will  too,  some  day.  You  will  see  that  the  Church,  which  the  pagans 
of  Augustine's  time,  the  Albigenses  of  the  thirteenth  and  the  Pro 
testants  of  the  sixteenth  century,  regarded  as  finished,  has  always  its 


302  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

inspiration  and  its  virtue.  May  you  experience  its  consolations, 
which  alone  can  meet  the  trials  of  this  life  and  soothe  the  anguish  of  a 
tormented  age." 

Then  the  farewell,  the  au  revoir,  the  handshake:  "We  have  many 
things  in  common.  If  there  be  any  one  thing  that  raises  a  cloud 
between  us,  believe  that  I  am  very  willing  indeed  to  do  everything 
possible  to  dispel  it.  Yours,  etc." 

Ozanam  remembered  M.  Havet  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  followed 
that  soul  in  his  thoughts  and  in  his  prayers.  Why  did  he  not  win 
him  ? 

After  the  appearance  of  the  Histoire  des  Girondins,  and  Ozanam's 
damaging  criticism  of  it,  as  well  as  of  the  previous  Voyage  en  Orient 
and  of  Jocelyn,  Lamartine's  name  does  not  again  occur  in  Ozanam's 
correspondence.  In  1848,  when  Lamartine's  name  was  on  every 
body's  lips,  one  does  not  find  the  independent  editor  of  The  New  Era 
in  personal  touch  with  that  ephemeral  idol  of  democracy.  But  in  1852, 
when  he  had  fallen  from  popularity  and  power,  and  had  become  a 
plaything  of  hostile  political  parties,  Ozanam  recalls  to  his  Lyons 
friends  the  duty  of  considering  the  feelings  of,  and  of  respecting  in 
their  royalist  Gazette,  the  man  of  great  heart.  God  in  His  love  had 
visited  him  with  adversity  and  humiliation  in  order  to  lead  him  back 
to  Himself.  It  was  to  Dufieux  he  wrote.  We  have  not  that  letter, 
but  Dufieux's  reply,  dated  yth  of  May,  1852,  shows  that  it  was  under 
stood  :  "  How  shall  I  thank  you,  my  dear  friend,  for  the  lesson  which 
you  would  teach  me  !  I  set  such  high  store  on  your  good  opinion, 
that  I  should  be  indeed  miserable  if  you  thought  it  possible  that  I,  a 
friend  of  Lamartine  in  his  prosperity,  should  abandon  and  attack  him 
in  adversity.  It  was  when  he  was  at  the  summit  of  his  glory,  and 
when  he  had  shown  kindness  to  me,  that  I  wrote  three  articles  for  the 
Reparateur  attacking  la  Chute  d'un  ange,  which  had  been  just  published 
by  him  ;  you  were  good  enough  to  read  advance  proofs  of  those  articles. 
In  1848,  while  Lamartine  was  in  power,  an  attack  was  made  by  the 
Government  on  the  priests  in  Lyons.  I  wrote  him  a  warning  letter  in 
these  terms  :  '  If  our  faith  and  our  priests  are  touched,  it  is  not  one 
Vendee  you  will  have  but  ten.'  But  now,  that  he  is  humiliated  and 
despised,  I  have  sent  him  letters  of  respect  and  even  of  affection.  I 
have  not  failed  to  pay  due  consideration  either  to  his  greatness  or  to 
his  adversity."  Ozanam  had  been  understood  and  obeyed. 

Ozanam's  liberty  of  mind,  which  was  composed  of  faith  and  zeal 


P£RE  LACORDAIRE  303 

for  the  salvation  of  souls,  tended  in  the  direction  of  the  widest  possible 
interpretation  of  the  belief  in  the  mercy  of  Our  Saviour.  This  doctrine 
had  its  master  and  model  in  Pere  Lacordaire.  Ozanam  returned 
from  the  fifth  Lenten  Conference  in  1851  in  transports  of  joy,  as  if  he 
had  heard  an  inspired  canticle  to  the  charity  of  Jesus  Christ.  "  It  is 
an  outstanding  event  in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  our  age,"  he  said. 
"  The  Priest  laid  down  that  most  consoling  and  most  probable  doctrine 
of  the  mighty  number  of  the  saved,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Jansenist 
theory  of  the  small  number  of  the  elect.  He  took  occasion  to  protest 
strongly  against  the  views  of  those  who  see  around  them  only  evil 
and  damnation.  He  poured  forth  the  most  eloquent  language,  which 
I  have  ever  heard  from  his  lips,  telling  the  mercies  of  God  to  those 
who  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  that  is  to  say  to  the  great  majority 
of  human  beings.  When  he  was  commenting  on  the  evangelical 
beatitude,  '  Blessed  are  the  Poor,'  charity  pouring  from  his  lips,  and 
lighting  up  his  whole  figure,  he  had  one  of  those  transports  which  we 
read  of  in  the  lives  of  the  saints.  The  congregation  of  four  thousand 
persons,  hanging  on  his  words  under  the  arches  of  Notre  Dame,  asked 
themselves  if  they  were  listening  to  an  angel  or  a  man." 

"  The  mighty  number  of  the  elect:"  In  the  same  letter  Ozanam 
makes  a  special  note  of  that,  to  repudiate  the  spirit,  which  would  make 
truth  the  exclusive  prerogative  of  one  party  or  sect,  which  would 
separate  instead  of  unify,  which  would  represent  truth  as  gloomy 
instead  of  cheerful,  and  which  would  raise  up  insurmountable  barriers, 
reaching  to  heaven  itself,  between  men  of  good-will. 

But  his  very  scrupulosity  for  orthodoxy  makes  him  fear  lest  Lacor 
daire  should  have  been  carried  away  by  his  eloquence  to  lengths, 
which  his  own  spirit  of  moderation  was  not  able  to  follow.  He  indi 
cated  that  hesitancy  in  a  ten-lined  postscript  to  that  same  letter,  in 
which  his  love  for  moderation  is  not  in  any  way  derogatory  to  his 
veneration  for  that  well-beloved  master:  "In  speaking  as  I  do  of 
Pere  Lacordaire,  I  must  not  be  taken  as  approving  all  that  flowed 
from  his  lips  in  his  oratorical  flights.  There  were  two  unhappy  ex 
pressions.  But  I  cannot  bear  that  he  should  be  judged  by  a  single 
word,  rather  than  by  a  complete  sermon  ;  particularly  when  such  a 
holy  and  self-sacrificing  priest  is  with  other  Dominicans,  presenting 
to  this  self-indulgent  age,  the  model  of  what  a  human  life  should  be." 

It  is  well  known  that  he  did  not  spare  his  audience  in  the  matter  of 
severe  truths.  "  But  even  there  I  cannot  but  find  many  sublime 


304  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

features  to  charm  mankind.  I  think  it  is  well  to  show  religion  as 
beautiful  as  a  queen,  and  to  induce  men  to  hope  that  she  is  true,  before 
proving  her  to  be  so." 

The  same  letter  closes  with  these  noble  words,  through  which 
palpitates  the  soul  of  an  apostle  :  "  Ah  !  my  dear  friend,  what  a  trou 
blous,  but  what  an  instructive  time  it  is,  through  which  we  are  passing  ! 
We  may  perish,  but  we  must  not  regret  having  lived  in  it.  Let  us 
learn  from  it.  Let  us  learn,  first  of  all,  to  defend  our  belief  without 
hating  our  adversaries,  to  appreciate  those  who  do  not  think  as  we  do, 
to  recognise  that  there  are  Christians  in  even/  camp,  and  that  God 
can  be  served  now  as  always  !  Let  us  complain  less  of  our  times  and 
more  of  ourselves.  Let  us  not  be  discouraged,  let  us  be  better." 

But  that  toleration  for  all  shades  of  Dissenters  was  not  well  received 
by  all  Catholics.  Ozanam  could  well  remember  the  savage  attack 
which  his  Address  on  the  Literary  Duties  of  Christians  in  polemics  had 
drawn  on  him  from  /'  Univers.  That  journal  had  not  been  silenced. 

Reviewing  in  June,  1850,  a  volume  of  poetry  by  M.  de  Francheville 
in  what  he  calls  the  literary  supplement  of  the  Correspondant,  Ozanam 
concluded  his  appreciation  with  the  contrast  of  "  two  directly  opposite 
schools  of  thought,  which  desired  in  our  ov/n  times  to  serve  God  with 
the  pen.  One  claims  for  its  leader,  M.  de  Maistre,  whom,  however,  it 
exaggerates  and  misrepresents.  It  selects  the  most  violent  paradoxes, 
the  most  controversial  theses,  provided  only  that  they  irritate.  It 
presents  truth,  not  in  the  form  that  attracts,  but  in  that  which  repels. 
It  has  not  before  its  mind  the  idea  of  bringing  back  unbelievers,  but 
of  inflaming  the  passions  of  believers." 

"  The  other  school  aims  at  finding  in  the  human  heart  the  secret 
links  which  bind  it  to  Christianity,  at  developing  in  it  the  love  of  the 
true,  the  beautiful,  the  good,  and  then  at  exhibiting  those  ideals  to 
it  in  revealed  faith  towards  which  every  soul  aspires  ;  at  leading  back 
to  the  fold  souls  which  have  strayed,  thereby  increasing  the  number 
of  Christians.  I  must  say  that  I  prefer  to  belong  to  the  latter  school. 
I  cannot  forget  the  saying  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales  that  more  flies  are 
caught  with  a  spoonful  of  honey  than  with  a  tun  of  vinegar."  M.  de 
Francheville  was  congratulated  by  Ozanam  on  the  fact  that  he  had 
chosen  the  poetry  of  love  in  preference  to  the  poetry  of  anger." 

Ozanam  had  been  careful  to  state  in  his  article  that  "  both  schools 
desired  to  serve  God  by  word  and  pen  with  equal  sincerity,"  thus 
excluding  any  question  of  conscience  or  of  good  faith. 


A   SAD   SPECTACLE  305 

Those  few  lines  which  escaped  general  notice  in  a  bibliographical 
critique,  received  a  long  and  angry  reply  on  the  3rd  of  July  in 
/'  Univers  from  the  hand  of  its  greatest  master  in  his  grandest  manner. 
The  reply  was  unsigned  ;  it  did  not  need  a  signature  ;  the  master's 
hand  was  clearly  visible.  Louis  Veuillot  had  a  right  to  complain 
of  the  severity  of  the  representation  of  him,  he  had  a  right  to  defend 
himself.  Where  the  angry  writer  of  polemics  was  altogether  wrong 
was  in  debasing  a  question  of  principles  to  one  of  personalities.  Then 
a  doubly  sad  spectacle  was  to  be  seen.  It  was  heart-rending  in  the 
first  place  to  see  the  proud  Christian  figure  of  Ozanam  and  his  school 
repeatedly  attacked  with  insinuations  and  accusations.  They  mis 
represented  his  noble  intentions  and  cruelly  charged  him  with 
cowardly  desertion,  with  weak  compliance,  with  timid  silence,  with 
false  flattery,  with  acts  of  compromise,  of  repudiation,  and  almost 
with  complicity.  Not  a  single  instance  was  quoted  in  support  of  those 
charges.  That  continued  through  four  or  five  columns,  in  which  the 
venerated  name  of  apostle  is  blasted  with  the  most  scorching  irony. 
It  is  with  reluctance  that  I  set  that  down.  Ozanam's  remonstrance, 
which  will  be  read,  did  not  say  a  word  that  should  not  be  said.  His 
pardon  will  be  read  later. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  not  less  heart-rending  to  see  a  great  Chris 
tian,  gifted  with  great  talents,  distinguished  by  many  services,  loose 
against  such  a  brother  the  fiery  arrows  of  an  anger  which  made  him 
blind  to  all  sense  of  truth  and  justice.  Did  Louis  Veuillot  ever  regret 
that  mischievous  reply  ? 

Hurt  in  all  that  he  held  dear,  character,  conscience,  dignity,  and 
even  faith,  Ozanam  suffered  torture  from  the  wound  which  long 
remained  open.  The  pain  was  redoubled  when  a  letter  arrived  a  few 
days  later  from  Dufieux,  informing  him  of  the  impression  of  trouble 
and  division  which  had  been  produced  on  Ozanam's  friends  in  Lyons, 
and  indeed  on  the  writer  himself,  by  the  article.  Were  they  not  relying 
on  him  and  on  his  splendid  talents,  to  make  up  to  the  Church  for  the 
celebrated  men  who  had  abandoned  or  denied  her  ? 

Ozanam's  reply,  dated  the  I4th  of  July,  is  plaintive  and  humble, 
but  it  is  vigorous  and  dignified.  It  breathes  the  most  honourable 
spirit  that  could  come  from  the  heart  of  the  knight  without  reproach, 
who  had  been  wounded  by  one  of  his  own. 

Ozanam  demurs  first  to  the  too-high  honour  which  has  been  done 
to  him  in  Lyons  :  "  I  have  never  given  you  any  reason  to  form  such 


306  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

high  hopes  for  me ;  I  have  never  aspired  to  take  the  place  of  those 
great  men  whose  defection  you  deplore.  I  know  myself  well.  If  God 
has  given  me  industry,  I  have  never  mistaken  that  gift  for  genius. 
Certain  it  is  that,  in  the  lowly  position  in  which  I  am,  I  desire  to 
consecrate  my  life  to  the  service  of  faith.  But  I  consider  myself  a 
useless  servant,  a  labourer  of  the  eleventh  hour  whom  the  Master  of 
the  vineyard  has  only  engaged  through  charity." 

'  That  being  so,  it  seemed  to  me  that  my  days  would  be  well  occupied 
if,  notwithstanding  my  lack  of  merit,  I  was  able  to  retain  a  number 
of  young  men  around  my  professorial  Chair,  to  establish  in  their  eyes 
the  principles  of  Christian  science,  to  seek  to  make  them  honour  what 
they  despise:  the  Church,  the  Papacy,  the  Clergy.  I  wished  to 
collect  those  thoughts  into  books,  less  fugitive  than  lectures.  All  my 
hopes  would  be  fulfilled  if  some  erring  souls  should  find  therein  reasons 
for  abjuring  prejudices,  dispelling  doubts,  and  returning,  with  God's 
help,  to  Catholic  Truth.  That  is  what  I  was  hoping  to  do  for  the  last 
ten  years  without  any  ambition  of  a  higher  sphere.  But  neither  have  I 
had  the  misfortune  to  desert." 

But  what  tortured  him  beyond  measure  was  that,  knowing  all 
that,  his  friends  in  Lyons  could  have  suspected  his  loyalty,  because 
of  such  an  attack  :  "  You  who  know  me  so  intimately,  who  have  re 
ceived  the  overflowing  and  outpouring  of  the  depths  of  my  heart,  who 
have  followed  every  step  of  my  career,  that  a  denunciation  in  a  news 
paper  could  make  you  doubt  my  good  faith  !  A  lay  man,  without 
authority  or  mission,  who  remains  anonymous,  charges  me  with  be 
traying  our  cause  through  treason,  cowardice,  and  self-interest ;  he 
even  goes  so  far  as  to  accuse  me  of  apostacy.  Thereupon  you  take 
alarm,  you  commence  to  be  afraid  that  I  do  not  believe  in  hell  !  You 
place  me  in  the  very  embarassing  position  of  having  to  bear  witness 
for  myself  !  Well,  St.  Paul,  when  unjustly  accused  did  so,  and  I 
shall  do  likewise." 

The  evidence  which  he  found  himself  constrained  to  give  is  moving 
to  tears  :  "  Would  I  be,  my  dear  friend,  exhausted  with  fatigue  at 
thirty-seven  years  of  age,  reduced  to  a  state  of  premature  infirmity,  if 
I  had  not  been  driven  on  by  the  desire,  by  the  hope,  if  you  wish  by  the 
illusion,  of  serving  Christianity  ?  Was  there  not  then  any  danger  for 
me  in  reviewing  religious  questions,  in  rehabilitating  Catholic  institu 
tions,  when,  as  a  removable  Acting  Professor,  I  should  have  been 
considering  the  philosophic  views  of  those  who  had  my  future  in  their 


HIS   DEFENCE  307 

power  ?  Was  there  no  danger  in  assisting  alone,  with  my  presence 
and  my  voice,  M.  Lenorment,  when  he  was  attacked  in  his  Chair  ? 
Was  there  no  danger,  when  in  1848,  the  revolution  passed  daily  before 
the  Sorbonne  ?  If  I  have  had  any  success  in  educational  and  academic 
circles,  it  is  by  hard  work  and  a  competitive  concursus  that  it  has  been 
won,  not  through  corrupt  compromise  or  patronage." 

How  jealously  he  safeguarded  and  defended  his  faith  !  '  To  be  sure 
my  dear  friend,  I  am  but  a  poor  sinner  in  the  sight  of  God :  but  He 
has  not  permitted  me  to  cease  to  believe  in  eternal  punishment.*  It 
is  false  to  say  that  I  denied,  misrepresented,  or  attenuated  any  article 
of  faith.  May  I  add  that,  if  my  friends  in  Lyons  had  known  of  my 
last  published  work,  which  the  Academy  crowned  last  year,  viz.,  La 
Civilisation  chretienne  chez  les  Francs,  they  would  have  discovered 
that  I  controverted  the  historians  ol  those  times,  wherever  they  are 
at  variance  with  Catholic  Truth,  with  the  honour  of  the  Church,  or 
with  the  Papacy." 

The  man  of  peace  proceeded  to  defend  himself  from  the  charge  of 
having  taken  the  initiative  in  this  controversy,  or  of  having  given  the 
bad  example  of  bitter  polemics  between  Catholics.  He  had  not  as 
much  as  mentioned  the  name  of  I'  Univers,  still  less  of  its  editors,  nor 
had  he  said  anything  whatever  which  would  give  them  any  justification 
for  indulging  in  outrageous  and  scandalous  personalities. 

Ozanam  had  mentioned  the  names  of  M.  de  Chateaubriand  and 
M.  Ballanche  in  his  literary  critique  of  M.  de  Franche vine's  poetry,  as 
the  leaders  of  the  school  of  peace.  Ozanam  explains  the  allusion  in 
this  calm  reply  :  "  As  far  as  the  references  to  M.  Ballanche  and  M.  de 
Chateaubriand  are  concerned,  I  have  not  put  them  forward  as  models. 
I  have  simply  said  that  those  two  names  had  sustained  by  their  renown 
the  school  of  thought,  which  had  been  inaugurated  or  rather  restored 
by  the  Genie  du  Christianisme.  That  is  a  matter  of  opinion.  It  is 
not  for  me  to  defend  the  memory  of  M.  de  Chateaubriand.  I  knew 

*L'  Univers  had  not  said  that  Ozanam  did  not  believe  in  hell  but  that  he 
had  raised  doubts  in  praising  those  who  did  not  jo  believe.  What  good  do 
you  do  to  others  or  to  yourself  in  causing  them  to  think  that  you  do  not  believe 
in  eternal  hell  ?  You  do  them  an  injury  in  their  most  serious  interests  and  you 
decefve  them  as  to  your  own  profound  convictions."  That  was  an  aUusion ^to 
Ozanam's  printed  eulogium  of  Ballanche,  who  was  in  that  error.  But  had  not 
Ozanam  himself  charged  it  as  such  :  "  There  was  a  point  he  wrote,  where 
one  had  reason  to  fear  that  he  had  strayed  from  the  strict  line  of  °^°doxy'in 
which  his  heart  was  fixed."  Ballanche  had  moreover  retracted.  Was  Louis 
Veuillot  ignorant  of  that  fact  ? 


308  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

him  but  slightly,  but  I  knew  him  to  be  in  his  late  years  a  practical 
and  sincere  Catholic.  His  published  works,  le  Genie  du  Christianisme, 
les  Matryrs  and  les  Etudes  historiques,  have  been  of  great  assistance 
to  me,  and  I  know  others  who  say  the  same.  M.  Ballanche  held  a 
wrong  view  on  eternal  punishment.  He  retracted  and  died  at  peace 
with  the  Church,  having  received  the  last  Sacraments  with  great  piety. 
His  published  works,  in  which  that  error  finds  a  very  small  place, 
are  directed  to  the  triumph  of  Christian  truth.  That  is  a  distinction 
of  which  we,  men  of  Lyons,  should  be  more  proud." 

What  steps  was  Ozanam  going  to  take  to  answer  those  attacks  ? 
None.  What  specific  answer  did  he  make  to  those  charges  ?  None 
whatever,  save  the  following  to  his  friends  in  Lyons  :  "  I  find  myself 
so  bereft  of  all  combative  spirit  that  it  seemed  to  me  more  Christian- 
like  not  to  reply  at  all.  I  had  the  right  of  reply,  and  several  friends 
advised  me  to  that  course.  But  I  surrendered  it  for  the  sake  of  peace. 
I  have  been  much  consoled  by  the  number  of  people  of  position,  who 
expressed  their  indignation  at  those  attacks." 

His  reply  was  read)-.  His  brother  informs  us  that  "  after  much 
prayer  and  meditation,  he  decided  to  repel  insinuations  that  could  be  a 
source  of  scandal  to  others.  However,  distrusting  the  angry  feelings 
of  one  who  had  been  wounded  in  what  he  holds  most  dear,  he  pre 
ferred  to  consult  M.  Cornudet,  then  a  Counsellor  of  State.  The  latter 
listened  with  sympathy,  and  advised  :  "  My  friend,  you  are  a  Christian, 
forgive.  Your  silence,  better  than  speech,  will  bear  witness  to  your 
faith."  Ozanam  tore  up  the  reply  and  threw  it  into  the  fire. 

L'  Univers  was  severely  censured  in  September,  1850,  two  months 
later,  by  the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  Monsignor  Sibour.  Ozanam  be 
lieved  that  it  would  be  more  dignified  and  more  Christian-like  to 
refrain  from  any  reference  to  that  condemnation,  which  indeed  he 
regarded  as  unduly  severe.  In  answer  to  M.  Eugene  Rendu,  who 
urged  him  to  expressly  support  it,  he  wrote  :  "  The  fact  is  that  /' 
Univers  had  treated  me  too  badly  for  me  to  join  in  its  condemnation, 
and  your  sense  of  delicacy  will  appreciate  the  sentiment  which  re 
strained  me  from  writing  to  the  Archbishop  on  the  matter.  However, 
having  heard  your  opinion,  it  does  seem  that  it  would  be  improper 
for  me  to  keep  silent  longer."  He  wrote,  as  he  explains,  regretting 
"  the  extreme  vehemence  of  the  words  with  which  the  Pontifical  Act 
concluded,  even  though  it  was  necessary  to  stay  the  course  of  the 
movement  for  the  subjection  of  the  Church  in  France,  and  to  replace 


LIBERALITY   OF   THOUGHT?  309 

religious  power  where  Jesus  Christ  had  originally  placed  it,  in  the 
hands  of  the  bishops." 

His  brother  adds  :  "  Matters  of  such  a  painful  nature,  working  on 
a  simple,  delicate  and  impressionable  mind  like  Ozanam's  had  their 
repercussion  on  his  health,  which  had  been  already  badly  shaken  by 
the  year's  work.  The  doctors  thought  it  necessary  to  order  a  two 
or  three  months  voyage  to  withdraw  him  from  constant  worry." 

Such  in  brief  is  the  doctrine  and  conduct  of  the  great  man  of  faith 
as  a  man  of  good  works  :  inflexible  in  principle,  indulgent  towards 
men  of  good- will,  in  religious  matters  cheerfully  submissive  to  authority, 
in  politics  an  ardent  partisan  of  a  full  measure  of  liberty,  but  sub 
ordinating  everything  to  the  supremacy  of  the  Church,  the  greater 
glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls. 

When  Ozanam's  letters  appeared  in  1866,  one,  and  not  the  least  of 
his  admirers,  reviewed  them  in  an  orthodox  journal  with  sympathy 
and  moderation.  However,  in  the  closing  words  of  the  article  he  had 
some  reservation  to  make  upon  the  liberality  of  mind  of  that  sincere 
and  loyal  Catholic,  who  was  however,  he  maintained,  attracted  by 
taste,  associations,  and  environment,  to  a  school  of  thought,  the  dangers 
of  which  the  writer  condemns  as  follows: — "In  putting  themselves 
forward  as  the  defenders  of  a  loosely  defined  liberty,  they  exposed 
weaker  and  less  sincere  minds  to  what  actually  happened  at  a  later 
period,  that  is  to  say,  the  danger  of  confounding  the  exception  with 
the  rule,  the  application  with  the  principle,  of  considering  as  absolute 
truths  maxims  of  toleration  which  may,  in  a  given  state  of  circum 
stances  and  to  avoid  greater  evils,  be  accepted  as  provisional  rules 
of  conduct,  but  which  reason,  any  more  than  faith,  could  not  elevate 
into  principles.  To  do  so  would  be  to  fall  either  into  that  false 
liberality  of  thought  which  was  condemned  by  the  Encyclical  of  1864, 
or  else  into  that  so-called  sincere  and  independent  Catholicism,  which  is 
none  other  than  disguised  Rationalism,  or  degenerate  Protestantism." 

The  objection  could  not  be  better  expressed.  At  the  same  time 
it  relieves  Ozanam  of  the  responsibility  for  the  views  that  were  objected 
to  and  consequently  for  the  condemnation  that  was  uttered.  I 
do  not  wish  to  repeat  here  all  that  I  have  said  touching  Ozanam's 
scrupulous  orthodoxy  at  all  times  ;  I  wish  only  to  say  here  that  the 
few  lines  taken  from  his  letters  by  the  £tudes  religieuses,  from  letters 
which  were  domestic  and  private,  and  which  were  written  currente 
calamo  had  quite  a  different  complexion  and  meaning  when  considered, 


3io  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

not  isolated  and  detached,  but  as  a  whole  and  in  their  context,  with 
all  the  attendant  circumstances  of  time,  place  and  person.* 

The  just  and  reverend  critic  concludes  as  follows:  "  If  I  do  not  share 
all  Ozanam's  views,  I  still  respect  them,  because  they  were  allied  in  his 
mind  with  noble  and  legitimate  ideals.  It  would  be  impossible  for  any 
one  who  reads  his  works  not  to  do  justice  to  his  purity  of  intention 
and  nobility  of  thought.  He  might  err  in  policy  but  not  in  religion." 
Such  had  been  indeed,  in  other  words,  the  hope  and  prayer  of  Ozanam. 

Ozanam  was  dead  eleven  years  when  the  "  false  liberalism  "  fell 
under  the  ban  delivered  ex  cathedra  in  the  Encyclical  Quanta  cura 
and  of  the  Syllabus  in  1864.  He  died  prematurely,  leaving  on  record 
in  his  will  a  solemn  declaration  of  his  loyalty  "  to  every  teaching  of 
the  Holy  Roman,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church,  in  which  he  found 
truth  and  peace." 

*So  it  is  with  this  passage,  the  only  one  bearing  on  the  subject,  which  the 
Rev.  Pere  Grandidier  extracts  from  Ozanam's  letters,  doubtless  because  he 
believes  that  he  finds  therein  the  avowal  of  conscious  dissent  with  the  belief 
prevailing  in  Roman  circles.  Etudes,  vol.  IX.,  May-June,  1866.  Ozanam 
wrote  to  M.  Dugas  from  Rome,  Easter  Day,  1847,  as  follows  :  "  I  am  able  to  say 
for  your  guidance  that,  unless  I  am  mistaken,  the  most  distinguished  men  here 
support  the  theory  of  liberty  put  forward  by  /'  L'nivers,  while  they  disapprove 
of  the  violence  of  its  language  and  the  bitterness  of  its  polemics.  It  is  to  be 
desired  that  such  questions  as  are  agitating  France  would  conclude,  not  with  a 
rupture,  but  with  an  understanding  between  the  Church  and  the  State." 

Now,  to  understand  the  above  lines  and  to  grasp  Ozanam's  mind  fully,  it  must 
be  remarked  that  the  very  vague  expression  theory  of  liberty  is  not  to  be  taken 
as  applicable  to  a  general  doctrine  of  liberalism,  but,  most  probably,  to  the 
specific  burning  question  of  the  liberty  of  education,  which  precisely  at  that  time, 
April,  1847,  was  being  debated  vigorously  in  the  Press,  in  connection  with  the 
Bill  for  regulating  Education  which  had  been  introduced  by  M.  Salvandy. 
L'  Univers  supported  the  broader  view  of  religious  liberty  which  had,  in  sub- 
tance,  if  not  in  form,  the  approval  of  those  men  in  Rome  whom  Ozanam  had 
met  ;  and  which  they,  as  well  as  he,  wishing  as  usual  for  conciliation,  desired  to 
see  accomplished  by  agreement  between  Church  and  State.  Ozanam  thought 
it  was  desirable  to  communicate  to  M.  Dugas,  "  for  his  guidance,"  that  view,  as 
having  the  support  of  distinguished  people  in  Rome.  Such  information  would 
be  of  use  to  M.  Dugas  as  one  of  the  management  of  the  Lyons  Gazette  (See  Pere 
Lecanuet's  Montalembert,  vol.  II.,  all  chap.  15) 

But  where  in  all  this  is  there  any  trace  of  dissent  between  Ozanam  and  Rome 
on  the  question  of  liberalism. 

Two  other  passages,  not  quoted  by  the  venerable  editor  of  the  Etudes  but  to 
which  he  refers,  advocate  expressly  religious  liberty,  the  separation  of  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  powers  (which  is  not  the  same  as  that  of  Church  and 
State),  and  announce  emphatically  the  triumphant  progress  of  the  Faith  in 
dissenting  countries.  Ozanam  does  not  lay  down  these  views  as  absolute  dogma. 
His  correspondence  does  not  dogmatise  ;  the  historian  deduces  from  the  actual 
state  of  affairs  the  conclusion  that  common  liberty  is  better  for  the  Church  than 
patronage.  The  distinction  between  the  thesis  and  the  hypothesis  is  always 
present  and  preserves  doctrine  intact.  Ozanam's  complete  and  correlated 
correspondence  does  not  present  any  other  view. 


THE   SERVICE   OF  TRUTH  311 

The  final  proposition  which  was  condemned  and  punished  in  the 
Encyclical  and  the  Syllabus  annexed  thereto,  is  as  follows  :  "  The 
Roman  Pontiff  can  and  should  keep  pace  with  progress,  liberality  of 
thought,  and  modern  civilisation."  That  implies  the  notion  of  a 
bargain  and  of  an  evolution  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Church.  Ozanam 
knew  perfectly  well  that  truth  cannot  compound.  He  did  not  say, 
he  never  said  anywhere,  that  the  Church  should  square  itself  with 
the  ideas,  principles,  and  progress  of  modern  society,  by  surrendering 
one  jot  of  her  tradition  or  constitution,  which  is  precisely  the  error 
lurking  in  liberal  Catholicism.  He  said  the  very  reverse.  He  main 
tained  that  modern,  as  well  as  ancient  society,  should  square  itself 
with  Catholicity,  the  parent  of  all  civilisation,  by  acting  in  accord 
with  its  beliefs,  precepts,  and  institutions,  which  he  exalted.  Now 
between  those  two  conceptions  of  the  relations  of  the  Church  and  of 
Society  there  is  not  merely  a  difference,  there  is  a  chasm.  If  Ozanam 
had  lived  to  read  the  Encyclical  Quanta  Cum  and  its  Syllabus,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  he  would  have  welcomed  that  separa 
tion  of  light  from  darkness  by  the  hand  of  the  Holy  Father,  whom  he 
calls  the  Pope  of  modern  times.  He  had  followed  him  too  closely 
in  his  political  paths,  not  to  continue  to  do  so  in  the  more  exalted 
ways  of  the  Gospel. 

But  if  perchance,  writing  ten  or  twelve  years  before  that  condemna 
tion  was  pronounced,  and  those  definitions  laid  down,  some  expressions 
have  appeared  in  his  correspondence  which  were  not  in  perfect  accord 
with  those  definitions,  who  could  be  astonished,  or  who  could  make 
it  the  basis  of  a  charge  against  him  ? 

It  is  certain  that  he  never  erred  deliberately  and  knowingly,  and 
he  could  say  with  a  clear  conscience  on  the  threshold  of  eternity : 
"  If  there  is  one  thing  that  consoles  me  on  leaving  this  earth  before 
my  work  is  accomplished,  it  is  that  I  have  never  worked  for  the  favour 
of  men,  but  always  in  the  service  of  truth." 

After  the  advent  of  the  Empire,  militant  politics  find  no  further 
place  in  Ozanam's  corrspondence.  I  notice  the  following  reference 
only  in  one  of  his  letters  of  that  period  :  "  Whatever  the  future  may 
have  in  store  for  us,  God's  interests  are  safe  for  the  time  being.  I 
cannot  say  as  much  for  those  of  the  world." 

God's  interests,  God's  Kingdom,  Ozanam's  hopes  sought  a  refuge 
there.  If  we  wish  to  know  the  whole  state  of  his  mind,  his  regrets 
on  the  one  hand,  his  holy  hopes  and  consolations  on  the  other,  we  have 


312  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

only  to  read  the  following  serene  and  noble  lines,  written  to  his  learned 
friend,  the  Venetian  Tomaseo,  who  was  then  staying  for  the  benefit 
of  his  health  in  Corfu  :  "  The  days  which  separate  us  from  1847  in 
Venice  have  indeed  multiplied  our  disappointments.  See,  how  little 
the  great  lesson  of  1848  has  taught  men  !  Behold  them  all,  one 
after  another,  declaring  solemnly  before  heaven  and  earth,  that  they 
were  never  wrong,  that  those  mighty  events  have  neither  caused  them 
regrets  nor  taught  them  !  Behold  how  they  resume  their  old  hatreds, 
their  daily  petty  passions,  their  sloth  which  recoils  at  any  new  idea  ! 
They  are  doing  all  in  their  power  to  make  Providence  strike  a  second 
time  and  strike  harder." 

"  I  have  but  one  hope,  which  is  however  great,  that  Christianity 
will  assert  itself  amid  general  decay.  Faith  has  never  seemed  so 
lively  as  in  the  past  year.  The  mass  of  the  people  who  do  not  know 
where  to  turn,  are  hastening  to  the  Master  Who  has  the  words  of  eternal 
life.  France  is  indeed  the  Samaritan  woman  of  the  Gospel  !  She 
has  frequently  gone  to  draw  water  from  sources  which  did  not  quench 
her  thirst.  She  will  henceforth  follow  Him  who  promises  the  living 
water,  that  she  may  not  again  thirst.  I  do  not  know  how  Europe 
will  be  re-constructed  ;  but  what  one  cannot  fail  to  appreciate  is  that 
the  same  ideal,  which  civilised  barbarians,  is  again  moving  the  waters 
of  our  times.  Men  are  opposed  and  likely  to  clash  ....  But 
Christians  are  to  be  found  in  every  camp.  God  scatters  us  under 
hostile  flags  so  that,  in  a  divided  society,  there  may  not  be  a  single 
party,  a  single  section,  in  which  tongues  will  not  be  found  to  praise 
and  bless  God  the  Redeemer." 


313 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
THE  ITALIAN  FRANCISCAN  POETS. 
CHRISTIAN  CIVILISATION  IN  THE  STH  CENTURY. 

ASSISSI,      ST.      FRANCIS. — JACOPONE      DE      TODI.— THE      FRANKS. — MORAL 
TRIUMPH. 

The  gloom  of  France  during  the  years  1848-50  could  not  obliterate 
in  Ozanam's  mind  the  memory  of  Italy  in  the  spring  of  1847.  The 
vision  above  all  of  Assissi,  less  dazzling,  less  bewildering  than  Rome, 
gave  delightful  repose  to  his  heart  and  his  thoughts.  He  dwelt  re 
peatedly  on  the  day,  that  happy  da}r,  when  he  and  his  wife  had  lived 
with  St.  Francis,  breathing  his  soul  and  treading  in  his  footsteps. 
"I  spent  one  day,  all  too  short  for  me,"  he  wrote,  "in  the  ancient 
city  of  Assissi.  The  memory  of  the  saint  was  as  fresh,  as  if  he  had 
died  but  yesterday,  and  had  just  left  to  his  country  the  blessing  which 
is  still  to  be  read  on  the  gates  of  his  city." 

That  day  had  been  one  long  impression  of  religion  and  poetry.  But 
it  was  not  merely  impressions  which  he  had  brought  back,  but  the 
idea  and  plan  of  a  book  which  would  reproduce  the  scene:  "It  was 
there  that  the  idea  took  a  definite  shape,"  he  said.  "On  leaving 
Assissi  the  plan  of  the  work  took  shape  as  I  saw  receding  the  white 
walls  of  the  Sacred  Convent,  the  town  nestling  under  its  protection, 
and  the  slope  which  it  crowns,  resplendent  in  the  golden  rays  of  the 
setting  sun." 

That  little  book  was  to  be  The  Italian  Franciscan  Poets  in  the  i$th 
Century.  St.  Francis  had  left  behind  him  a  school  of  poets  whose 
inspiration  and  model  he  was.  Ozanam  was  all  afire  to  make  known 
their  songs  which  were  indeed  canticles  "  identifying  with  the  subject  " 
he  said  "  my  recollections  and  impressions,  with  all  the  freedom  of 
travellers  in  dealing  with  places  which  have  charmed  them." 

The  first  two  chapters  of  what  was  to  be  the   Franciscan  Poets, 


314  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

appeared  in  the  Correspondant  in  the  month  of  January,  1848.  It 
was  in  the  same  place  and  at  the  same  time  that  the  author  was  fight 
ing  a  great  battle  for  his  "  barbarians."  There  was  indeed  little 
resemblance  between  the  work  of  mystical  poetry  and  it. 

Bonaventure  appears  in  this  work,  breathing  lyrics  under  the  school 
uniform.  Friar  Pacificus,  who  was  called  the  King  of  Verse,  and 
Jacomino  de  Verona.  But  those,  and  all  other  figures,  pale  before  a 
greater  poet,  Jacopone  de  Todi.  The  Franciscan  Poets  were  then 
silent  for  a  while  in  the  Correspondant,  until  the  Fioretti  completed 
and  crowned  a  volume,  which  was  to  become  the  most  popular  of  all 
Ozanam's  works. 

That  is  not  surprising,  for  it  is  the  work  into  which  he  threw  most 
of  himself  and  of  his  poetical  and  mystical  soul.  In  this  history, 
what  are  we  looking  for  in  his  books  but  himself,  his  soul,  and  his 
life,  showing  how  he  resembles  his  books  and  his  books  himself  ? 

Ozanam,  speaking  of  the  birth-place  of  St.  Francis,  in  a  letter  to 
M.  Janmot  in  1836,  used  the  same  language  as  Dante  :  "  Do  not  speak 
of  it  as  Assissi,  that  does  not  do  justice  to  it ;  call  it  The  East,  that  is 
properly  its  name."  Ozanam's  soul,  illumined  by  the  East,  was  in 
full  sympathy  with  that  of  the  saint.  The  poet  in  him  was  in  harmony 
with  the  sacred  poet  who  saw  and  sang  God  visible  to  him,  mirrored 
in  all  his  creation,  from  the  mighty  sun  and  stars  to  the  most  insigni 
ficant  and  most  despised  of  His  creatures,  calling  them  all  brothers 
and  sisters.  The  man  of  charity  in  him  was  in  full  sympathy  with 
the  saint,  who  adored  Jesus  Christ  in  the  person  of  the  poor,  who 
made  himself  like  unto  the  poorest  of  the  poor,  father  and  founder  of  a 
society  of  poor,  and  who  made  poverty  his  spouse  and  his  queen. 
Ozanam,  as  a  man  of  peace,  was  moreover  at  one  with  the  soul  of  the 
man  of  peace  who  undertook  the  mission  of  reconciliation,  traversing 
Guelph  and  Ghibilline  cities  one  after  another,  breathing  a  peace 
which  he  induced  them  to  conclude  at  the  foot  of  the  Crucifix .  ' '  Francis 
of  Assissi  thus  appears,"  said  Ozanam,  "  as  the  Orpheus  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  taming  the  ferocity  of  the  wild  beasts  and  softening  the  hard- 
hear  tedness  of  men." 

Ozanam  had  heard  Pere  Lacordaire  speaking  of  St.  Francis  of  Assissi, 
whom  he  called  "  the  man  mad  with  love."  His  poems  are  canticles 
of  the  love  of  God.  Ozanam,  the  historian  of  an  age  that  produced 
sublime  works,  ascribes  all  to  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  only 
lever  capable  of  raising  the  earth  to  the  heavens.  He  writes  elsewhere 


JACOPONE   DE  TODI  315 

"Antiquity  knew  nothing  like  it,  neither  knowing  nor  loving  God 
it  did  not  love  man.  But  consider  the  Christian  era  and  you  will 
find  that  love  has  become  mistress  of  the  world  !  It  has  vanquished 
paganism  in  the  amphitheatres  and  on  the  funeral  pile.  It  has  brought 
new  peoples  to  civilisation,  has  led  them  to  undertake  the  Cru 
sades,  and  has  made  heroes  greater  than  those  of  epics.  It  enkindled 
the  torches  of  the  schools  in  which  letters  survived  centuries  of  barbar 
ism.  It  dictated  the  hymns  of  the  Church,  that  is  to  say,  after  the 
Psalms  of  David,  the  most  sublime  harmonies  that  have  consoled  the 
weariness  of  the  earth." 

Ozanam  proceeds  to  review  Jacopone  de  Todi  after  St.  Francis 
of  Assissi  and  three  other  poets.  He  confides  in  us  that  it  is  not  with 
out  hesitation  he  is  taking  up  the  life  story  of  that  extraordinary 
man,  who  passed  from  the  cloister  to  prison  and  from  prison  to  the 
altars.  "  Troublous  times  are  to  be  met  with  in  that  story/'  he  said, 
"  the  Church  on  fire,  and  a  great  religious  in  conflict  with  a  Pope  :  a 
great  poet  pouring  out  scorching  satire  and  red  hot  anger  on  the 
Lord's  anointed,  enkindling  popular  passion  against  him  and  scandal 
ising  the  whole  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  God's  glory  never  de 
pended  on  concealing  the  faults  of  His  elect.  The  Christian  historian 
reproduces  the  elect  just  as  they  are,  passionate  and  fallible,  but  cap 
able  of  effacing  many  years  of  error  by  one  day's  repentance." 

Ozanam  implores  mercy  for  the  error,  and  pardon  for  the  repent 
ance.  The  insurgent  Friar  was  a  man  of  good  faith,  who  believed 
he  was  satirising,  not  the  legitimate  head  of  the  Church,  but  a  usurper 
of  the  Apostolic  See.  It  was  a  blind,  but  a  holy  passion,  which  armed 
him,  while  it  led  him  into  error  ;  his  heart  was  the  first  to  be  torn 
with  grief,  by  the  very  scourges  which  he  inflkted  on  Holy  Mother 
Church. 

Ozanam  desired  that  the  cruel  error  of  that  misguided  Friar  should 
furnish  a  warning  as  to  the  respect  and  the  reserve  which  should  be 
maintained  among  Christians  in  polemical  disputes.  "  Others  will  be 
scandalised  by  the  spectacle,"  he  writes,  "  we  should  learn  from  it. 
We  should  learn  to  believe  that,  in  times  of  discord,  virtue  is  possible 
in  the  ranks  of  those  who  are  not  with  us,  and  to  moderate  our  attacks, 
lest  our  blows  should  fall  unwittingly  on  heads  that  are  worthy  of  all 
respect." 

What  made  Jacopone  de  Todi  a  poet  and  a  great  poet  was  love 
and  grief,  and  therein  lay  his  attraction  for  Ozanam. 


316  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Love  for  Jesus  Christ  burns  in  those  canticles  :  those  of  St.  Teresa 
and  of  St.  John  of  the  Cross  do  not  express  more  passionate  languour. 
Love  for  the  Virgin  Mary  throbbing  in  that  heart  overflows  in  tears 
to  the  feet  of  the  Mother  of  Dolours  in  that  beautifully  sad  hymn  of 
the  Stabat  Mater  wherein  the  poet  depicts  her  standing  broken  but 
erect  by  her  Son's  side.  "Catholic  liturgy,"  said  Ozanam,  "  holds 
nothing  more  touching  than  that  sweet  sad  plaint,  with  its  monoton 
ous  strophes  falling  like  tears :  with  the  sweetness  of  a  grief  all  divine 
and  consoled  by  angels :  with  such  a  simplicity  of  language  that 
women  and  children  understand  one-half  of  its  popular  Latin  from 
the  sound  of  the  words  themselves,  and  the  other  through  the  chant 
and  through  the  heart." 

Then  Jacopone,  he  too,  is  the  poet  of  the  poor  and  the  lover  of 
poverty,  of  which  indeed  he  sang.  Ozanam  loves  poverty  and  writes 
as  follows  :  "  I  honour  in  him  the  poet  of  the  poor  celebrating  poverty. 
The  people  had  no  better  or  greater  servants  than  those  who  taught 
them  to  bless  their  destiny,  who  made  the  spade  lighter  on  the  shoulder 
of  the  labourer,  and  brought  a  ray  of  hope  into  the  room  of  the  weaver. 
Many  times,  doubtless,  as  the  sun  was  setting  and  the  people  of  Todi 
were  plodding  their  homeward  weary  way  from  the  toil  of  the  fields, 
along  the  slope  of  the  hill,  the  men  urging  the  cattle,  the  women  bear 
ing  on  their  backs  their  sunburnt  babies,  some  Franciscan  Friars, 
their  feet  covered  with  dust  bringing  up  the  rear,  Jacopone's  song 
would  be  heard  mingling  with  the  tingling  of  the  Angelus  bell  :  "Sweet 
Poverty,  how  we  should  love  thee  !  Poverty,  my  dear  little  Poverty, 
to  drink  and  to  eat,  a  porringer  sufnceth.  Bread  and  water  and  herbs 
of  the  fields,  behold  all  that  Poverty  needs.  Should  a  guest  arrive, 
she  adds  a  pinch  of  salt,  etc." 

'  Towards  the  close  of  1306  Jacopone,  advanced  in  years  and  worn 
with  suffering  for  divine  love,  fell  seriously  ill  and  felt  the  approach 
of  death.  Friar  Jean  de  1'Alvernia,  who  loved  him  dearly  and 
was  loved  by  him  in  return,  arrived  in  time  to  give  him  the  kiss  of 
peace  and  the  Most  Blessed  Body  of  Jesus  Christ.  Jacopone,  radiant 
with  joy,  sang  the  canticle,  Jesus  our  Hope,  recommended  a  holy 
life  to  all,  raised  his  hands  towards  heaven  and  breathed  his  last. 
It  was  Christmas  Night  and  the  moment  when  the  Priest  intoned 
the  Gloria  in  excelsis  at  Mass  in  the  neighbouring  Church." 

M.  Ampere  called  the  Franciscan  Poets  "  a  masterpiece  of  refinement 
and  grace.  I  insist  on  the  word  grace,"  he  said,  "  because  it  remained 


HIS   IMMENSE  WORK  317 

a  characteristic  of  an  imagination  which  an  austere  life  and 
laborious  study  had  not  blunted.  One  is  amazed  to  find  that  it  was 
possible  to  write  that  charming  work  with  such  imagination,  and  to 
pursue  at  the  same  time  scientific  research,  as  appears  in  his  report 
to  the  Minister  on  his  literary  mission.  Both  are  the  fruits  of  his  stay 
in  Italy  and  were  garnered  side  by  side. 

The  Franciscan  Poets  appeared  in  the  Correspondant  in  the  months 
of  December,  1847  and  January,  1848.  In  the  latter  month  he  wrote 
to  Foisset  representing  that  publication  as  but  a  page,  an  episode  in 
an  immense  work,  one  cut  stone  in  a  vast  edifice  which  he  traced  out 
for  him.  The  letter,  which  must  be  reproduced  in  full,  is  a  light 
house  shining  over  a  waste  of  waters. 

"  My  two  essays  on  Dante  and  on  the  early  Germans  are  the  corner 
stones  of  a  work  which  I  have  already  partially  done  in  my  public 
lectures,  and  which  I  should  like  to  take  up  again  and  complete.  It 
would  be  a  literary  history  of  Babarian  Times,  a  history  of  Letters, 
and  therefore  a  history  of  civilisation  from  the  decadence  of  Rome  and 
the  earliest  dawn  of  the  genius  of  Christianity  down  to  the  close  of  the 
I3th  century.  I  should  make  that  the  matter  of  my  lectures  for  ten 
years,  if  necessary,  and  if  God  spared  my  life.  My  lectures,  which 
could  be  taken  down  in  shorthand,  would  form  the  first  draft  of  a 
volume  which  I  would  revise  and  issue  at  the  close  of  each  year. 

"  That  system  would  infuse  into  my  written  work  a  little  of  the  en- 
enthusiasm  which  I  feel  sometimes  in  my  professorial  Chair  but  which 
deserts  me  in  my  study.  It  would  have  the  further  advantage  of  sparing 
my  health,  and  of  making  available  whatever  little  knowledge  and 
strength  I  possess.  The  subject  would  be  an  admirable  one,  because 
it  would  result  in  revealing  to  modern  society  the  long  and  laborious 
course  of  education  carried  out  by  the  Church.  I  should  commence 
with  an  introductory  volume  in  which  I  would  attempt  to  show  the 
intellectual  state  of  the  world  at  the  advent  of  Christianity ;  how  much 
the  Church  salvaged  of  the  heritage  of  antiquity,  and  by  what  means 
it  preserved  that  legacy  ;  then  the  origin  of  Christian  Art  and  of 
Christian  Knowledge,  from  the  times  of  the  catacombs  and  the  First 
Fathers  of  the  Church.  Every  excursion  which  I  made  in  Italy  last 
year  was  directed  to  that  end. 

"A  description  of  the  barbarian  world  would  follow  much  the  same 
lines  as  in  my  work  on  the  Early  Germans  :  then  their  entry  into  the 
Catholic  fold :  the  prodigious  labours  of  such  men  as,  Boetius,  Isidore 


3i8  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

de  Seville,  Bede,  St.  Boniface,  who  rested  neither  night  nor  day,  but 
carried  the  torch  of  learning  from  one  end  of  the  invaded  Empire  to 
the  other,  penetrated  into  inaccessible  places,  and  passed  on  the  torch 
from  hand  to  hand  down  to  Charlemagne.  It  would  be  necessary  to 
study  the  constructive  work  of  that  great  man  and  to  show  that 
literature,  which  had  not  perished  before  his  time,  was  not  extinguished 
afterwards. 

"  I  should  then  show  all  that  was  great  in  England  in  the  time  of 
Alfred,  in  Germany  under  the  Othos  :  I  should  come  to  Gregory  VII 
and  the  Crusades.  I  should  then  have  the  three  most  glorious  cen 
turies  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  deal  with  :  theologians  like  St.  Anselm, 
St.  Bernard,  Peter  Lombard,  Albert  the  Great,  St.  Thomas,  St.  Bona- 
venture  :  legislators  of  Church  and  State,  Gregory  VII,  Alexander 
III,  Innocent  III  and  Innocent  IV,  Frederick  II,  St.  Louis,  Alphonsus 
X  :  the  quarrel  of  the  priesthood  and  the  Empire  :  the  Communes, 
Italian  Republics  :  chroniclers  and  historians  :  Universities  and  the 
Knowledge  of  Law.  I  should  have  to  deal  with  Romance,  poetry, 
the  common  patrimony  of  all  Europe  ;  and  incidentally  all  epic  tradi 
tion  peculiar  to  each  people,  which  are  the  foundations  of  national 
literatures.  I  should  see  modern  languages  in  the  making,  and  my 
work  would  close  with  the  Divine  Comedy,  that  most  sublime  monu 
ment,  the  culmination  and  the  glory  of  the  period." 

Full  of  enthusiasm  for  the  magnitude,  and,  attracted  by  the  beauty 
of  the  work,  Ozanam  is  nevertheless  affrighted  at  the  thought  of  the 
infirmity  of  the  worker,  and  adds  with  melancholy  :  "  That  is,  my  dear 
friend,  what  a  man  is  prepared  to  undertake  who  barely  missed  dying 
eighteen  months  ago,  who  has  not  yet  quite  recovered,  who  has  to 
look  after  himself  in  a  dozen  different  ways,  and  who,  as  you  know, 
is  both  irresolute  and  weak." 

"  But  I  am  counting  on  God's  goodness  if  He  will  grant  me  health  ; 
on  my  course  of  lectures  which  will  carry  on  my  plan,  on  the  compass 
to  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  reduce  so  many  questions  for  an  edu 
cated  public,  anyone  of  which  would  occupy  several  lives.  I  count 
somewhat  on  eight  years  uninterrupted  preparation  for  lectures, 
wherein  I  have  endeavoured  to  collect  and  fix  the  results  of  my  re 
search,  having  first  submitted  them  to  the  critical  opinion  of  kind 
friends." 

His  great  work  would  be  entitled  :  History  of  Civilisation  in  the 
Times  of  the  Barbarians,  which  had  already  its  commencement  in  his 


HISTORY   OF   CHRISTIAN   CIVILISATION  319 

Germanic  studies.  In  February,  1847,  Part  I  of  the  first  volume  ap 
peared,  The  Germans  before  Christianity  :  the  second  volume  in  1849, 
Christianity  among  the  Franks.  The  Gobert  Prize  was  awarded  the 
same  year  to  the  two  volumes  by  the  French  Academy.  In  his  course 
of  lectures  on  Letters  in  Italy  during  the  barbarian  period,  Ozanam 
had  already  begun  the  work  which  he  subsequently  named  History 
of  Christian  Civilisation  in  the  $th  Century.  Yet  those  three  volumes 
were  with  him  but  the  introduction  to  the  great  historical  period 
which  extended  from  Charlemagne  to  St.  Louis  and  Innocent  III, 
which  covered  the  Middle  Ages  down  to  that  strange  and  grandiose 
poem  which  transported  him  with  delight. 

That  gigantic  historical  edifice  might  be  represented  as  a  Cathedral. 
The  5th  Century  would  be  the  portico,  flanked  by  two  Roman  towers, 
Ancient  Germans  and  Franks,  giving  entrance  to  a  long  nave  of  six 
centuries,  leading  up  to  the  sanctuary  in  which  Christ,  the  Conqueror 
of  barbarism,  reigns  in  triumph  amid  Pontiffs,  heroes,  doctors,  saints, 
and  poets,  who  were  adoring  Him,  on  His  altar,  His  throne,  as  appears 
in  the  Disquisition  on  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

Ozanam  began  his  lectures  in  1849  by  unfolding  to  his  students 
the  bewildering  but  fascinating  distance  which  he  wished  them  to 
travel  with  him  :  "Gentlemen,  those  who  will  follow  me  to  the  end 
of  my  research  will  have  to  cover  a  period  of  approximately  one 
thousand  years,  a  sixth  part,  and  possibly  the  most  crowded  part, 
of  the  existence  of  the  human  race.  We  shall  travel  slowly  with  that 
rapt  attention  with  which  one  witnesses  an  absorbing  spectacle.  Is 
there  any  study  more  entrancing  than  the  correlation  of  centuries, 
the  raising  up  of  followers  to  the  illustrious  dead  one  hundred,  five 
hundred  years  later,  demonstrating  the  constructive  spirit  triumphant 
over  destruction  ?" 

To  be  equal  to  the  demands  of  such  a  task,  he  must  be  supported 
and  sustained  by  the  encouragement  of  his  juniors.  Ozanam  was 
beginning  to  feel  his  strength  wane,  to  be  prematurely  old  ;  his  illness 
had  sounded  a  warning  note  :  "Gentlemen,  "he  said,  "  I  should  not 
dare  to  face  the  difficulties  of  such  an  undertaking  if  I  were  not  sus 
tained  and  encouraged  by  you.  I  call  these  walls  to  witness  that 
if  I  have,  at  times,  received  inspiration,  it  is  here,  either  from  the  echo 
of  the  voices  of  the  great  departed  ringing  in  my  ears,  or  from  the 
impetus  of  your  warm  sympathy.  My  plan  may  be  rash  ;  if  so,  you 
will  share  the  responsibility,  you  will  make  up  for  my  physical  weak- 


320  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

ness.  I  shall  grow  old  in  the  work,  God  willing.  But  the  cold  of 
old  age  will  not  chill  my  bones,  if  I  can  return  as  I  do  to-day,  to  warm 
my  heart  by  the  fire  of  your  youthful  years." 

His  students  understood  and  encouraged  him  ;  his  audience  grew 
with  the  plan  of  his  lectures.  He  had  formerly  shown  Christianity 
struggling  with  the  Northern  Barbarians,  he  shows  it  now  face  to 
face  with  those  of  the  West  in  that  Roman  Empire  which  had  nothing 
better  to  put  forward  for  the  education  of  undisciplined  masses  of 
people  than  moral,  religious,  and  political  decadence,  something 
worse  than  their  own  barbarism.  How  then  would  the  regeneration 
of  that  ancient  Empire  be  accomplished  which  was  sinking  under 
the  weight  of  its  own  vices  rather  than  before  the  attacks  of  the  bar 
barians  ?  What  was  to  happen  to  that  Empire  which  was  dying, 
but  which  preferred  to  die  with  a  laugh  on  its  lips  ? 

"  Men  are  not  civilised  save  through  conscience,"  replies  Ozanam, 
"  and  the  first  victory  in  the  conquest  must  be  over  their  own  passions. 
But  did  the  philosophers  of  Rome  ever  concern  themselves  with  the 
state  of  the  souls  of  millions  of  conquered  barbarians  who  were  sunk 
in  ignorance  and  sin  ?  That  could  not  be  done  prior  to  the  advent 
of  those  missionaries  whom  zeal  urged  across  the  rivers  on  the  banks 
of  which  the  legions  had  halted.  The  missionaries  were  only  occupied 
with  the  saving  of  souls,  but  in  saving  them  they  saved  all." 

Ozanam  brings  before  our  eyes  those  ancient  missionaries,  bishops, 
friars,  doctors,  preachers,  virgins  and  frequently  martyrs.  It  is 
again  Rome,  but  a  new  and  spiritual  Rome,  that  sets  out  anew  to 
conquer  the  world,  through  the  medium  of  mind  and  heart — a  thank 
less  task  in  which  she  was  to  be  abandoned  by  those  who  had  been  her 
first  loyal  supporters.  While  the  Goths,  Vandals  and  Lombards  were 
passing  over  to  Arianism,  the  Church  selected  by  predilection,  a 
German  tribe  in  whose  greatness  all  the  West  was  co-operating. 

The  need  was  indeed  urgent  and  great.  At  the  close  of  a  lecture 
Ozanam  was  able  to  state,  with  Salvien's  book  in  his  hands,  that 
there  were  only  to  be  found  in  the  ancient  territory  of  the  Empire, 
Pagans  and  Arians,  a  double  state  of  barbarism.  It  was  chaos  and 
anarchy  ;  what  hand  could  bring  in  order,  unity  and  truth  ?  In  the 
dismemberment  of  the  Empire  where  was  the  head  that  could  re 
construct  the  body  ?  Where  were  strength,  mind,  hope,  and  life 
itself  to  be  found  ?  Ozanam  asks  himself  that  question. 

"  Now  one  day,"  he  replies  in  a  gesture  which  recalls  Lacordaire, 


THE  FRANKS  321 

"  Bishop  Remi  stood,  on  Christmas  Day,  496,  at  the  portals  of  his 
Cathedral  in  Rheims.  The  approaches  to  the  Church  were  shaded 
with  embroidered  hangings,  which  floated  from  the  windows  of  the 
houses  along  the  way.  The  porticos  were  festooned  with  white 
draperies  :  the  fonts  were  full  and  the  chrism  at  hand  upon  the  marble 
slab.  Waxen  candles  nickered  on  all  sides.  Such  was  the  feeling 
of  piety  which  pervaded  the  holy  enclosure,  that  the  barbarians 
believed  they  were  surrounded  by  the  perfumes  of  Paradise.  The 
chief  of  one  of  the  warring  tribes  bent  beneath  the  baptismal  waters  ; 
three  thousand  followed.  When  they  came  forth  Christians,  four 
teen  centuries  of  empire,  of  chivalry,  of  crusades,  of  scholasticism, 
that  is  to  say  of  heroism,  liberty  and  modern  civilisation  came  forth 
with  them.  A  great  new  nation  was  born  into  the  world,  The  Franks." 

The  Franks  !  With  them  began  in  the  5th  century  a  new  era  of 
civilisation,  in  the  course  of  which  Christianity  poured  forth  its  trea 
sures  of  knowledge,  charity,  virtue,  and  grace.  Each  lecture 
emphasizes  some  benefit — In  the  first  place  Christian  Law  illuminat 
ing  that  world  which  it  could  have  destroyed,  but  which  it  preferred 
to  reform,  at  first  with  reflected  rays  under  pagan  emperors,  later 
with  direct  rays  under  Christian  emperors  :  Literature  finding  its  way 
gradually  into  the  Church,  the  Church  welcoming  it  as  a  human  pre 
paration  for  the  Gospel :  Theology  confounding  the  fables  of  paganism 
and  the  subtleties  of  heresy  with  the  indestructible  permanence  of 
its  dogma :  Christian  Philosophy,  uniting,  in  the  teachings  of  St. 
Augustine,  the  sublime  speculations  of  Plato  with  the  truths  of  Re 
vealed  Religion  :  the  Papacy  staying  the  torrent  of  invasion  with  its 
authority :  Monasticism,  training  educators,  benefactors,  apostles 
and  models  for  new  races  :  Christian  Morality  mindful  of  the  slave, 
the  poor,  the  worker,  the  woman,  whose  dignity  it  restores  in  con 
secrated  marriage  :  Eloquence,  History,  Poetry,  Art,  regenerated  and 
attempting,  not  without  success,  to  glorify  what  they  had  decried  and 
to  decry  what  they  had  glorified.  Each  lecture  was  to  be  a  chapter 
in  a  volume  which  would  be  more  eloquent  even  than  the  lecture. 

Ozanam's  instruction  was  not  mere  eloquence,  it  was  moral  action. 
As  he  had  said  of  the  civilising  Church,  it  was  to  the  conscience  of  his 
audience  that  he  addressed  himself,  and  through  which  he  wished  to 
win  them.  So  his  soul  was  in  his  speech.  He  sealed  each  lecture 
with  the  impress  of  his  own  character,  which  was  goodness  and  virtue, 
no  less  than  knowledge  and  truth.  He  was  thus  a  truly  great,  prudent, 


322  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

and  beneficent  influence  with  young  men  ;    he  was  welcomed,  ac 
claimed,  and  beloved  by  them. 

Montalembert  confirmed  that  view  in  a  letter  to  Ozanam's  widow 
immediately  after  his  death  :  "I  sat  many  times,"  he  said,  "  with 
his  young  men  at  the  foot  of  his  chair,  rejuvenating  myself  by  drink 
ing  in  his  noble,  sincere,  and  entrancing  words ;  I  am  inconsolable 
at  seeing  it  empty  and  for  ever  silent.  There  was  nobody,  in  my 
opinion,  who  could  be  so  well  relied  upon  to  hold  aloft  the  standard 
of  Catholicity  and  Science,  to  protect  youth,  and  to  safeguard  it  against 
scepticism,  license,  and  the  idolatry  of  reason.  He  was,  and  he  was 
entitled  to  be,  its  guide,  philosopher  and  friend." 

There  is,  for  example,  a  fascinating  lecture  on  Christian  Women 
of  the  5th  century.  Speaking  in  that  connection  to  the  young  men 
on  the  subject  of  marriage,  Ozanam  emphasized  the  nobility  of  the 
sacrifice  it  entails,  by  pointing  out  the  duty  of  bringing  to  the  Sacra 
ment  the  fulness  of  virtue  which  they  themselves  would  expect  to 
find  in  the  woman  of  their  choice :  "  There  are  two  cups :  in  the  one 
is  purity,  modesty,  and  innocence  :  in  the  other  an  unsullied  love, 
devotion,  consecration  of  the  man  to  the  weaker  vessel,  whom  yester 
day  he  did  not  know,  with  whom  to-day  he  is  one,  and  with  whom  he 
will  spend  his  future  life.  Both  cups  must  be  full  to  the  brim  in  order 
that  the  union  may  be  equal  and  may  bring  down  heaven's  blessing." 
Was  not  Ozanam  inspired  by  his  own  experience,  the  dearest  of  all  ? 

There  is  also  a  lecture  on  Christian  Charity.  Ozanam  could  not 
have  omitted  that  subject.  In  order  to  contrast  what  the  two  reli 
gions,  Pagan  and  Christian,  have  done  for  the  elevation  of  labour, 
the  freedom  of  the  slave,  the  assistance  of  the  poor,  Ozanam  examines 
their  respective  monuments  :  "  Yes,  antiquity  surpassed  us  in  build 
ing  monuments  to  pleasure.  They  understood  better  the  art  of 
enjoyment,  and  they  spared  no  pains  to  construct  coliseums,  theatres, 
circuses,  capable  of  seating  24,000  spectators.  They  knew  better  then 
how  to  enjoy  themselves.  But  we  have  outdistanced  that  record 
in  the  innumerable  monuments  erected  for  the  relief  of  suffering  and 
weakness,  which  our  fathers  christened  by  the  sacred  name  of  hotels- 
Dieu  (hospitals).  The  ancients  knew  how  to  enjoy  themselves  ;  but 
we  have  another  and  a  better  science  than  that.  They  knew  sometimes 
how  to  die,  that  much  must  be  granted  ;  but  dying  is  a  brief  business. 

.  .  .  We  understand  what  constitutes  human  dignity,  what  lasts 
as  long  as  life  endures.  We  know  how  to  suffer  and  to  labour." 


TRUST   IN   GOD  323 

But  on  the  other  hand,  as  he  notes  very  wisely,  we  must  beware 
of  the  unreasoning  contention,  very  much  the  fashion  in  1840,  which 
would  place  the  ideal  of  social  perfection  in  The  Middle  Ages.  "  We 
must  beware ;  if  we  make  that  claim,  the  minds  of  well  meaning  people 
will  be  prejudiced  against  a  period,  the  wrongs  of  which  we  would 
appear  to  justify.  Christianity  would  be  held  responsible  for  all 
the  disorder  of  an  age  in  which  she  is  represented  as  having  had 
dominion  over  every  mind  and  heart.  We  must  look  at  the  evil, 
formidable  as  it  was,  to  know  and  appreciate  the  services  of  the 
Church  during  centuries,  when  her  glory  consisted,  not  in  having 
conquered,  but  in  having  struggled." 

The  revolutions  and  disasters  in  those  ages  of  transition  furnished 
Ozanam  with  the  subject  matter  for  another  lecture,  specially  directed 
to  the  generation  of  the  troublous  times  of  1848.  It  was  a  lecture  on 
patient  suffering  and  trust  in  God.  He  said  to  those  young  men  : 
"  When  we  have  delved  in  the  forests  of  ancient  Germany  and  in 
the  obscurity  of  the  Middle  Ages,  we  shall  find  that  the  results  of  our 
researches  are  not  so  far  removed  as  they  might  appear,  from  the 
hopes  and  dangers  of  the  present  times.  We  shall  learn  not  to  despair 
of  our  own  age,  when  we  have  examined  more  menacing  periods, 
during  which  violence  seemed  supreme,  despising  truth  and  detesting 
law.  Knowing  that  civilisation  cannot  perish,  we  shall  also  learn 
that  it  can  win  through  better  by  the  pen  than  by  the  sword,  by 
charity  better  than  by  justice"  :  and  further  on  :  "  Face  to  face  with 
our  decadence,  which  is  too  obvious,  we  must  not  ignore  the  progress 
which  is  not  so  obvious.  Let  us  remember,  in  our  moments  of  dis 
couragement,  that  our  Christianity  has  survived  worse  times.  Let 
us  say,  as  Aeneas  said  to  his  despondent  companions,  that  we  have 
passed  through  too  many  trials  not  to  see,  with  God's  help,  the  end  of 
this  :  0  passi  graviora,  dabit  Deus  his  quoque  finem  !" 

Ozanam  did  not  now  have  to  write  out  his  lectures.  The 
stenographer  took  the  words  living  from  his  inspired  lips,  in  readiness 
for  the  day  when  the  author  would  construct  with  them  a  finished 
and  perfect  work  of  art.  But  would  that  day  be  vouchsafed  to  him  ? 

He  himself  was  beginning  to  doubt  it.  We  read  at  the  close  of  the 
twenty-first  lecture,  the  last  of  the  year,  the  following  words,  which 
sound  like  a  farewell :  "I  like  to  think,  gentlemen,  that  our  opening 
lecture  in  this  hall  next  Session  will  find  me  more  punctual.  I  do  not 
know,  gentlemen,  whether  I  shall  finish  that  course  with  you,  or 


324  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

whether,  like  so  many  others,  I  shall  not  live  to  enter  the  promised 
land.  But  I  shall,  at  least,  have  seen  it  from  afar.  Whatever  may 
be  the  extent  of  my  instruction,  of  my  strength,  or  of  my  life,  it  will 
not  have  been  wasted,  if  I  have  induced  you  to  believe  in  progress 
through  Christianity  ;  if  I  have  rekindled  hope  in  your  young  souls,  hope 
which  is  not  only  the  inspiration  of  the  beautiful,  but  the  principle 
of  good,  which  not  only  enables  us  to  do  good  deeds  but  to  discharge 
high  duties.  Hope  is  essential  to  the  artist  to  guide  his  pen  or  his 
pencil  aright  ;  it  is  none  the  less  necessary  to  the  young  father  to 
found  a  home,  or  to  the  labourer  to  cast  the  seed  into  the  furrow,  in 
obedience  to  the  word  of  Him  Who  said,  "Sow." 

Ozanam  had  sown  the  seed  ;  it  had  germinated  ;  the  ears  were  ripen 
ing  ;  would  he  not  bind  the  sheaves  ?  His  1849-50  lectures  were 
awaiting  book  form.  After  les  Polles  franciscains,  la  Civilisation  au 
Ve  si  eel  e,  revised  and  finished  was  to  form  two  volumes,  while 
his  lectures  were  proceeding.  But  physical  strength  was  failing  the 
great  and  courageous  spirit.  What  would  become  of  the  work  ? 

The  doctors  prescribed  several  months  complete  rest  in  travel,  or 
in  the  country.  We  shall  now  see  Frederick  Ozanam  dragging  him 
self  along,  during  those  painful  years,  1850-2,  on  holidays  and  en 
forced  absence,  his  condition  alternating  constantly  between  health, 
illness  and  despondent  weakness. 


325 


CHAPTER  XXV. 
BRITTANY.— ENGLAND.— THE   WORK  OF  PUBLICATION. 

BRITTANY.—"    The  Fioretti   of   St.  Francis  "— "  The  $th  Century."— 
SCEAUX. — LONDON  AND  DIEPPE. 

1850-51. 

Ozanam's  frail  physical  constitution  had  not  entirely  recovered 
from  his  attack  in  1846.  Continuous  work,  and  unmerited  accusations 
completed  what  illness  had  begun.  The  same  doctors  who  had  in 
terned  him  the  previous  year  in  Ferney,  far  from  libraries  and  politics, 
now  ordered  him  three  months'  complete  isolation  and  rest,  at  or 
near  the  sea,  during  the  vacation  of  1850.  He  went  to  Brittany,  ac 
companied  by  his  wife  and  child,  to  enjoy  the  consolations  of  religion, 
the  grandeur  of  nature,  and  the  charm  of  a  circle  of  friends  who  were 
ever  ready  to  welcome  him. 

He  went  first  to  St.  Gildas  de  Ruiz.  After  some  baths  and  promen 
ades,  all  pain  left  him  and  he  felt  at  ease.  He  wrote  on  the  loth  Sep 
tember  :  "  I  spent  a  very  happy  time  there,  under  a  cloudless  sky 
by  the  mighty  restless  sea  enjoying  complete  peace  of  heart,  with  my 
wife  and  child  who  are  improving  daily  in  health.  There  are  in  this 
life  some  moments  of  happiness  which,  though  short  and  fleeting, 
yet  repay  years  of  suffering."  He  had  written  previously  on  the  3rd 
September  :  "  I  am  not  dissatisfied  with  the  state  of  my  health.  As 
I  am  living  in  the  open  air  and — to  my  shame  be  it  said — in  complete 
idleness,  I  feel  much  better.  Praise  be  to  God,  who  gives  me  even  a 
moment's  respite,  to  recuperate  my  health  and  to  prepare  me  to  suffer 
like  a  Christian." 

Is  the  sight  of  such  a  soul  under  the  hand  of  God  less  impressive 
than  a  tranquil  sea  in  which  a  cloudless  sky  is  mirrored  ? 

An  annual  procession  at  Vannes  in  honour  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrar, 
who  died  there,  the  wild  landscapes  of  Morbihan,  the  ruins  of  the 


326  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Castle  of  Susinio,  Gavrinis,  Locmariaker,  druidical  grottos,  the  tumuli 
of  Carnac,  threw  him  into  a  state  of  pious  meditation  and  deep  reverie. 
The  people's  piety  recalled  that  of  Italy,  but  it  was  more  serious  and 
more  stable  :  the  country  did  not  rival  the  elysian  beauty  of  the  Italian 
scenes  and  skies  :  "  When  one  has  seen  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  and  the 
Tiber,  one  must  not  look  for  beauties  of  nature  in  Brittany.  When 
one  desires  to  make  a  world's  tour,  one  should  not  commence  with 
Italy,  for  the  memory  of  its  sun  throws  all  that  follows  into  shade." 

Thus  impressed  and  interested  in  different  ways,  Ozanam  arrived 
at  the  castle  of  Truscat  to  his  friend  M.  de  Francheville.  The  spell 
which  Brittany  cast  over  him  began  in  a  visit  to  the  Island  of  Artz 
on  the  religious  feast-day  of  the  place.  He  received  an  invitation 
to  visit  the  isle  from  M.  Rio,  whose  birthplace  it  was.  M.  Rio  was  the 
passionate  exponent  of  the  wonders  of  Christian  Art,  the  friend  of 
Montalembert,  a  professor  of  history  at  the  Louis-le-Grand  Lycee, 
and  lately  tutor  of  young  Albert  de  la  Ferronnays.  He  was  the  heroic 
young  Royalist  who,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  led  his  comrades  of  the 
Vannes  Seminary  during  the  Hundred  Days  against  the  Imperial 
forces  until  the  Bourbons  returned.  They  immediately  decorated 
the  wounded  youth  for  the  defence  of  their  throne.  Ozanam  relates 
that  "  M.  Rio  did  the  honours  of  his  native  island.  After  High  Mass, 
at  which  the  whole  population  assisted  kneeling  out  to  the  square,  he 
received  us  in  the  cottage  of  his  mother,  a  dear  old  peasant,  whom  we 
were  charmed  to  see  in  her  simple  country  costume,  enjoying  the 
affection  and  esteem  of  her  family.  We  duly  honoured  the  rural  festi 
val  in  a  feast,  which  was  not  altogether  rural." 

Ozanam  was  entranced  by  the  procession,  as  it  wended  its  way  in. 
the  evening  to  the  music  of  Breton  hymns,  down  the  green  slopes  to 
the  sea  illuminated  with  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun.  His  little 
daughter  walked  in  the  procession  clothed  in  the  native  costume. 
Another  feature  of  the  scene  gripped  his  heart.  "  The  most  touching 
incident,"  he  said,  "  was  that  of  a  young  man  of  twenty- three  years 
of  age,  who  had  been  intended  for  the  priesthood,  but  who  had  be 
come  incurably  ill.  He  was  standing  on  the  threshold  of  his  home, 
dressed  in  black,  having  crawled  there  to  see  for  the  last  time,  the 
procession  of  his  native  place — I  heard  that  young  sub-deacon's  prayer 
above  the  chant  of  the  hymns,  offering  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  his 
life  .  .  .  Must  not  God  be  touched  at  such  a  sight  ?  How  could 
we  avoid  being  deeply  moved  by  it  ?" 


TRUSCAT   TO    KERBERTRAND  327 

That  letter  to  his  brother  Charles,  in  which  the  morning's  Communion 
had  its  due  place,  ended  with  a  word  for  "  old  Guigui.  "  Tell  her  that 
we  talk  of  her  from  morning  to  night.  Ask  her  to  remember  me  in 
her  prayers. 

The  joy  in  receiving  such  descriptive  letters  was  spoiled  for  the  youm? 

doctor  by  the  thought  of  the  fatigue,  which  they  must  have  caused 

3  invalid.     "What  do  you  want?"  replied  the  poet.     "  I  have 

ich  a  scrupulous  conscience  that  it  experiences  a  twinge,  if  I  have 

passed  a  day  without  doing  something.     Besides  I  can  never  grow 

accustomed  to  enjoying  anything  without  wishing  to  share  it  with 

those  whom  I  am  foolish  enough  to  love  I"     "  But  that  is  only  fooling 

with  medicine/'  insisted  the  young  doctor— "Oh  !  as  to  that  I  have 

no  fear,"  replied  his  dear  client,  "  I  am  afraid  that  I  shall  need  it 

for  a  long  time  to  come.     The  ease  of  these  last  few  weeks  has  made 

me  believe  prematurely  that  I  could  throw  away  my  crutches      But 

God  is  to  send  me  further  trials,  I  am  not  the  less  grateful  to  Him 

that  He  has  given  me  two  months'  good  rest." 

Ozanam  left  Truscat  and  his  friend  de  Francheville    towards    the 
end  of  September,  for  the  castle  of  Kerbertrand,  where  another  dis 
tinguished  friend,  Viscount  de  La  Villemarque  expected  him      "  De 
Francheville's  boat  placed  us  on  board  a  sloop  which  had  been  chartered 
)  take  us  across  the  Morbihan  basin,  under  a  glorious  sun  which  tinted 
the  sea  with  silver  and  the  isles  with  gold.     We  then  entered  an  arm 
the  sea  five  miles  long,  after  which  we  arrived  in  good  time  at  the 
town  of  Auray.     We  pressed  on  the  same  evening  to  St.  Anne,  the 
Breton's  national  place  of  pilgrimage.     It  was  late  on  a  week-day  ; 
nevertheless,  in  less  than  one  hour  we  saw  several  bands  of  pilgrims 
come  and  pray  fervently  before  the  miraculous  statue  of  St.  Anne,  or 
follow  the  Holy  Way  of  the  Cross  in  the  cloister  close-by.     We  were 
glad  to  kneel  amid  those  good  country  people  so  full   of  faith  and 
devotion.     We  prayed  more  fervently  than  usual,  sustained  and,  as 
it  were,  uplifted  by  better  prayers  than  ours." 

At  Kerbertrand,  near  Qtumperle,  Ozanam  enjoyed  happy  days  in 
the  distinguished  and  hospitable  family  of  the  author  of  the  Bardes 
and  the  Legendes  celtiques.  The  renowned  archaeologist  was  then 
collecting  and  translating  the  poems  of  the  country  of  Armor.  Ozanam 
pressed  him  to  publish  them  :  "  Have  you  taken  up  Taliesin's  lute  to 
re-arrange  the  strings,  or  to  give  us  the  Welsh  triads,  from  which  duty 
I  shall  not  discharge  you."  The  two  friends  spent  much  time  together 


328  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

over  congenial  matters  as  M.  de  La  Villemarque  afterwards  recalled  : 
"One  day — it  was  near  the  hour  for  retiring — we  were  reading  together 
the  poem  in  which  the  bard,  Liwar'hen  laments  the  death  of  his 
twenty-four  sons  slain  in  battle.  We  came  to  the  verse  depicting 
the  youngest  son,  the  best  beloved,  whom  the  father  rests  on  his  knees 
as  he  dies  at  the  foot  of  a  pear-tree,  and  in  which  he  says,  'A  bird  was 
sweetly  singing  in  the  pear-tree  over  the  head  of  my  son  before  he 
was  committed  to  the  earth :  it  broke  the  old  bard's  heart.'  We  read 
no  more  in  that  book.  I  looked  at  Ozanam,  his  eyes  were  filled  with 
tears."  M.  de  La  Villemarque  adds  :  "As  for  me,  I  cannot  bear  to 
think  of  my  friend,  then  near  his  death,  above  whom  was  also  singing 
the  bird  of  poetry.  But  his  sweet  voice  breaks  my  heart  and  I  too 
cannot  finish." 

We  shall  not  follow  Ozanam  in  his  exploration  of  Finisterre  after 
Morbihan.  He  names  the  principal  stations :  "I  saw  the  severe 
shores  of  St.  Gildas  and  the  enchanting  bay  of  Douardenez  ...  I 
went  and  sat  courageously  on  the  furthest  projecting  rock  of  the 
Raz  Point,  from  which  I  contemplated  with  deep  feelings  that  ocean, 
which  was  the  boundary  of  this  world  for  so  many  centuries.  .  .  I 
put  up  that  night  at  Lesneven  on  the  Brest  to  St.  Pol-de-Leon 
route,  close  by  the  celebrated  pilgrimage  of  Notre-Dame  de  Fol- 
Goat.  We  had  a  run  over  the  magnificent  harbour  of  Brest,  paid  a 
visit  to  several  of  the  vessels,  saw  something  of  the  naval  dockyards, 
and  returned  much  impressed  with  the  naval  greatness  of  France." 

"  But,  to  speak  truly,  what  attracts  me  to  this  region  is  not  so  much 
the  country  as  the  people  ;  the  primitive  monuments,  the  Druid 
stones  of  Locmariaker  and  Carnac,  the  cromlechs  of  Crozon  and  all 
the  lost  traditions  which  they  stand  for ;  the  legend  of  their  first 
apostles,  and  all  the  extant  traces  of  the  heroic  combats  between 
Christianity  and  the  ancient  gods ;  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  Renais 
sance,  of  unique  interest  in  the  country  of  Duguesclin  and  of  Anne 
of  Brittany.  Then  there  are  the  morals  of  those  good  people,  which 
are  very  little  contaminated  by  the  triviality  and  the  corruption  of 
ours. 

"  In  truth,  if  we  were  only  in  search  of  wonderful  scenes  of  nature 
and  of  Art,  we  had  done  better  to  put  away  our  walking  sticks  and 
live  on  our  recollections  oi  Vesuvius  and  the  Vatican.  But  one  would 
indeed  have  to  make  a  world  tour  to  meet  a  livelier  faith,  better  men, 
or  more  modest  women." 


&/X 

<£yt/«W 

vi**f~ 
?2X   ^ 


/  '     ~?    _        ry>         //     ,  , 

\J    J  C0K&*i+tJl£ 


J+t'* < jj >***** 


ft*  **  ^     (• 

'tt 

•!.    -J> 


v  .83 


FACSIMILE  OF  OZANAM'S  HANDWRITING  AND  SIGNATURE. 


PUBLICATION    OF   LECTURES  329 

Ozanam  had  also  found — where  cannot  one  be  found  to-day — a 
Conference  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  It  was  at  Morlaix  : 
"  We  were  welcomed  most  affectionately  and  put  up  for  three  days 
by  a  family  whom  we  did  not  know,  and  with  whom  we  have  no  bond 
of  union  save  that  of  membership  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul.  I  paid  a  visit  to  that  young  Conference,  which  is  very  active." 

The  return  journey  was  made  by  way  of  Lorient,  Vannes  and  Nantes. 
It  had  done  him  good.  "  The  air  of  Brittany  has  worked  wonders," 
he  wrote  to  M.  Ampere  immediately  on  his  return.  "  The  repose  of 
mind,  exercise,  and  sea  air,  have  restored  my  strength.  Without 
being  exactly  copper-lined,  I  believe  I  am  sufficiently  strong  to  be  able 
to  work  quietly  this  winter.  Madame  Ozanam,  in  whose  complete 
charge  I  was,  points  triumphantly  to  my  cheeks,  to  which  the  un 
accustomed  colour  is  returning.  Your  little  girl  friend  is  in  the  same 
condition,  so  that  we  form  a  trio  that  is  pleasant  enough  to  look  upon 
for  those  who  are  foolish  enough  not  to  dislike  us  !" 

Somewhat  re-assured  on  the  question  of  his  health,  or  appearing 
to  be  so,  Ozanam  considered  that  the  moment  had  arrived  for  the 
publication  of  his  two  last  years  of  lectures,  1849  an(i  1850,  the  first 
sketches  of  which  had  appeared  in  the  Correspondant.  We  have  already 
given  a  summary  of  them,  and  indicated  the  outstanding  features  of 
the  loftily-conceived  series  of  lectures  on  the  Civilisation  chretienne 
au  Ve  siecle.  The  codification  would  necessitate  not  merely  a  revision, 
but  the  complete  recasting,  entailing  an  immensity  of  labour  which 
frightened  the  author.  Longing  for  perfection,  always  dissatisfied 
with  his  own  products,  casting  and  re-casting  his  own  work  twenty 
times,  Ozanam  found,  as  we  already  know,  literary  composition  very 
difficult ;  the  handwriting  in  his  manuscripts,  twisted,  irregular,  and 
full  of  erasures,  shows  that.  He  had  now,  in  addition,  to  reckon  with 
relapses  of  a  malady,  which  made  the  pen  fall  from  his  fingers  and 
paralysed  his  inspiration.  It  was  in  one  of  such  moments  that  he 
wrote  as  follows  to  a  friend  :  "  I  have  no  illusions,  and  I  ask  myself 
if  my  shoulders  are  strong  enough  to  carry  the  burden  of  the  history 
of  letters  in  Barbarian  Times ;  and  if,  indeed,  it  be  worth  while  to 
incur  the  trouble  of  writing,  in  order  to  add  a  few  more  pages  to  what 
each  winter's  wind  sweeps  from  our  gardens  and  out  of  the  memory 
of  men."  Ozanam  was  at  that  moment  in  a  state  of  perplexity  which 
is  known  to  every  writer.  He  was  about  to  release  to  the  public  a 
work,  which  had  been  frequently  re-handled  and  never  finished,  and 


330  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

in  which  was  involved  the  honour  of  truth  even  more  than  that  of 
the  author. 

In  the  state  of  doubt  in  which  he  was  with  regard  to  his  work  and 
himself,  Ozanam  had  recourse  to  one  of  whom  he  felt  surer  than  he 
did  of  himself.  M.  Ampere  was  that  excellent  and  reliable  friend. 
But  he  was  a  wanderer.  He  was  believed  to  be  in  Berlin  at  the  close 
of  1850,  when  from  Rome  Ozanam  received  on  the  4th  December 
his  friendly  pressing  advice  to  get  on  with  the  publication  of  his 
Civilisation  par  le  Christianisme  :  "  My  friend,  I  stand  by  your  5th 
century.  You  must  first  publish  that  part  of  the  Introduction  exactly 
as  it  is  in  your  mind  and  in  your  notes.  No  discouragement,  please. 
You  must  look  after  your  health,  and  take  your  place  in  the  great 
movement  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  history  of  the  human  mind, 
in  which  we  are  all  co-operating.  You  will  do  your  part  and  God 
will  do  the  rest." 

Ozanam 's  health  did  not  on  this  occasion  disappoint  the  wishes 
and  the  recommendations  of  his  friend.  He  reported  progress  on 
the  27th  February,  1851  :  "  You  will  be  re-assured  as  to  the  use  that 
I  have  made  of  the  winter,  since  I  have  been  able  to  preserve  two  or 
three  different  states  of  health,  to  which  you  attach  importance. 
In  this  matter  I  am  deserving  of  all  praise.  Thanks  to  the  warm 
winds  which  you  have  taken  care  to  send  us  from  Italy,  we  have  got  on 
splendidly  up  to  the  present." 

The  autumn  and  winter  had  been  mild.  In  the  autumn  he  had 
been  able  to  resume  his  course  in  the  Sorbonne  :  in  the  whiter  and  spring 
he  was  confident  of  being  able  to  resume  writing.  He  wrote  to  M. 
Dufieux  on  the  Qth  April :  "  Divine  Providence  having  been 
merciful  with  us  as  with  children,  I  hope  that  I  shall  be  able  to  resume 
work  on  my  book  this  spring."  It  is  indeed  in  Spring,  1851  that  the 
Preface  to  the  first  volume  of  the  history  of  the  Civilisation  anx  temps 
barbares  is  dated.  The  work  was  to  grow  by  one  volume  each  year 
for  ten  years.  The  preliminary  pages  are  a  master-piece  of  eloquence, 
if  it  be  true,  that  eloquence  is  the  voice  of  a  great  soul. 

There  was  an  alternative  title  to  the  work  :  Dessein  d'une  histoire 
de  la  Civilisation  aux  temps  barbares.  The  plan  was  as  follows  :  "  I 
propose  to  write  the  literary  history  of  the  Middle  Ages,  from  the  5th 
to  the  I3th  century.  But  in  the  history  of  literature  I  study  princip 
ally  the  civilisation,  of  which  it  is  the  flower ;  in  civilisation  itself  I 
see  principally  the  work  of  Christianity.  All  my  argument  is  then 


HIS  PROMISE  TO  GOD  331 

directed  to  showing  how,  on  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  on 
the  tribes  encamped  on  those  ruins,  Christianity  constructed  a  new 
Society  capable  of  knowing  truth,  doing  good  and  realising  the 
beautiful." 

Ozanam  describes  how  that  plan  formed  in  his  mind.  It  was  born 
of  the  faith  of  his  father,  of  his  mother,  and  of  his  sister :  of  the 
faith  of  his  own  youth,  temporarily  shaken,  but  restored  by  the  hand 
of  a  priest,  a  master :  "I  believed  ever  afterwards  with  a  stronger 
faith,  and  deeply  touched  by  such  a  grace,  I  promised  God  to  devote 
my  life  and  my  strength  to  the  service  of  that  truth  which  had  re 
stored  peace  to  my  mind." 

That  work  was  then  the  fulfilment  of  a  promise  made  to  God,  and 
told  to  men,  the  accomplishment  of  a  mission  from  on  high,  of  which 
his  own  youth  was  conscious  and  which  it  had  already  undertaken. 
"Twenty  years  have  gone  since  then.  As  I  grow  in  years,  that  faith 
has  been  better  realised  and  has  become  proportionately  dearer  to  me. 
I  have  found  its  worth  in  great  sorrows  and  in  times  of  public  danger. 
I  pity  all  the  more  those  who  do  not  know  it.  In  an  unseen  way, 
which  strikes  me  with  wonder,  God  made  me  especially  study  Religion, 
Law,  and  Literature,  that  is,  the  three  things  most  necessary  to  the 
accomplishment  of  my  plan.  I  have  been  able  to  visit  those  scenes 
that  could  enlighten  me.  I  have  had  the  happiness  of  knowing  great 
Christians,  men  distinguished  in  Science  and  Religion,  as  well  as  those 
who  unwittingly  serve  the  cause  of  faith  by  the  exactitude  and  soundness 
of  their  knowledge.  Life  is  however  not  standing  still  and  I  shall 
have  to  seize  whatever  little  youth  remains.  It  is  full  time  to  write 
and  to  keep  my  eighteen  year  old  promise  to  God." 

He  would  have  to  refute  the  Science  of  negation  and  of  hostility. 
He  knows  that  well.  Read  this  beautiful  passage  :  "Gibbon  the  his 
torian  visited  Rome  in  his  youth.  Deep  in  thought  one  day  he  strayed 
into  the  Capitol.  Suddenly  he  heard  religious  hymns.  He  saw  a 
long  procession  of  Franciscans  leaving  the  gates  of  the  Ara  Coeli, 
brushing  with  their  sandals  that  roadway,  the  scene  of  many  triumphs. 
Then  indignation  seized  him,  and  to  avenge  antiquity  outraged  by 
Christian  barbarity  he  conceived  The  History  of  the  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  I  too  have  seen  the  Friars  tramping  on  the  old  roadway  of 
Jupiter  Capitoline.  I  rejoiced  at  that  sight  as  at  a  victory  of  love 
over  force.  I  resolved  to  write  a  history  of  Progress  of  the  very  period 
in  which  the  English  philosopher  saw  only  decay  ;  a  history  of  civilisa- 


332  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

tion  in  barbarian  times  ;  a  history  of  mind  surviving  invasions  and 
saving  the  debris  of  the  empire  of  Letters.  I  do  not  know  anything 
more  supernatural,  nor  any  event  which  proves  more  conclusively 
the  divinity  of  Christianity  than  the  salvation  of  the  human  mind 
by  it." 

But  he  has  more  than  that  to  say  to  Gibbon  :  "His  thesis  is  sup 
ported  by  a  great  part  of  Germany.  It  is  that  of  all  sensual  schools 
of  thought,  who  accuse  Christianity  of  having  stifled  the  legitimate 
development  of  humanity  by  keeping  the  flesh  in  subjection,  by  post 
poning  to  a  future  existence  the  happiness  which  should  be  enjoyed 
here,  by  destroying  that  enchanted  world  in  which  Greece  had  made 
deities  of  force,  wealth,  and  pleasure,  and  by  substituting  a  world  of 
sadness  in  which  humility,  poverty,  and  chastity  are  watching  at 
the  foot  of  the  Cross."  That  is  eternal  paganism,  characteristic  of 
our  fallen  nature  ;  it  is  not  progress,  it  is  a  retrogression  to  ancient 
barbarism.  'The  glory  of  the  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages  is  not  so 
much  that  she  conquered,  as  that  she  never  ceased  to  struggle.  But 
while  recognising  the  permanence  of  sin,  I  do  not  therefore  believe 
the  less  in  progress  in  Christian  times.  I  am  not  dismayed  by  the 
falls  or  the  stumbles  that  interrupt  that  progress.  Chill  nights  follow 
ing  on  warm  days  in  May  do  not  prevent  Summer  from  running  its 
course  and  ripening  the  harvest." 

The  comfort  to  be  derived  from  the  study  of  history  was  one  of 
hope  for  the  times  in  which  he  was  living,  and  the  lesson  to  be  learned 
was  work  :  "  I  therefore  do  thank  God  to-day,  for  having,  in  these 
disturbed  times  and  amid  the  terrors  of  society  which  would  appear 
to  be  perishing,  engaged  me  in  studies  in  which  I  find  peace  of  mind. 
When  I  turn  to  more  dangerous  periods,  when  I  see  the  perils  which 
Christian  society  has  survived,  that  society  whose  disciples  we  are, 
whose  soldiers  we  should  learn  to  be,  I  am  taught  not  to  despair  of 
my  age.  I  am  not  blind  to  the  tempests  of  our  time  ;  I  know  well 
that  I  may  perish  in  them  and  with  me  my  work,  to  which  I  cannot 
offer  a  long  life.  I  engage  in  writing,  because  I  have  not  received 
from  God  the  strength  to  drive  a  plough,  and  I  must  obey  the  law 
of  labour  and  do  my  day's  work." 

It  is  difficult  to  refrain  from  quoting  such  arresting  views.  But 
if  it  be  Ozanam  himself,  whom  we  seek  to  know  intimately,  he  is  to 
be  found  in  the  melancholy,  forceful,  prophetic,  and  resigned  finale, 
charged  with  tenderness  and  sadness  :  "  I  do  not  know  what  is  to  be 


DANTE   AND   OZANAM  333 

my  lot,  whether  this  book  will  be  completed,  or  whether  I  shall  reach 
the  end  of  the  page  which  I  am  now  writing.     But  I  know  enough 
to  devote  whatever  remains  of  my  life  and  strength  to  that  work. 
I  shall  continue  to  discharge  my  duty  of  public  instruction  ;  I  shall 
extend  and  perpetuate,  as  far  as  in  me  lies,  an  audience  which  is  ever 
friendly,  but  which  changes  too  often.     I  shall  seek  out  those  who 
heard  me  for  a  while,  and  who  kept  in  their  memory  what  I  said. 
That  work  will  summarise,  will  recast  my  lectures  and  my  writings." 
"  I  am  beginning  at  a  solemn  moment  and  under  sacred  auspices. 
Dante,  having  come  as  he  expressed  it  to  the  middle  of  his  way  of  life, 
began  his  pilgrimage  into  Hell,  Purgatory  and  Paradise,  in  the  great 
Jubilee  of  1300,  and  on  Holy  Thursday.     At  the  threshold  of   the 
journey  his  heart  failed  him  for  one  moment ;   but  three  blessed  women 
watched  over  him  in  the  heavenly  court,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  St.  Lucia, 
and  Beatrice.      Virgil  guided  his  steps,  and,  relying  on  that  guide, 
he  plunged  forward  bravely  on  the  darksome  journey.     Alas  !  I  have 
not  his  great  soul,  but  I  have  his  faith.     Like  him,  in  my  mature  years, 
I  have  seen  the  Holy  Year,  the  year  which  divides  into  two  the  stormy 
and  fruitful  century,  the  jubilee  year  which  re-invigorates  the  con 
sciences  of  Catholics.     I  desire  to  make  a  pilgrimage  of  the  three  stages 
of  history,  stretching  from  the  barbarian  invasions  to  Charlemagne 
and  from  Charlemagne  to  the  religious  splendour  of   the   thirteenth 
century.     Dante,  a  better  guide  than  Virgil,  will  accompany  me  to 
the  end  of  my  pilgrimage,  which  is  on  the  heights  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
where  his  throne  is  set.    Three  blessed  women  will  also  assist  me ; 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  my  mother,  and  sister.     My  Beatrice,  too,  has 
been  spared  to  me  on  this  earth,  to  sustain  me  with  her  smile  and  her 
glance,  to  raise  me  from  despondency,  and  to  exhibit  to  me  in  its  most 
touching  form  the  power  of  Christian  love,  the  good  works  of  which 
I  am  to  describe." 

"  Why  then  should  I  hesitate  to  imitate  Alighieri  and  to  close  this 
preface,  as  he  finished  that  of  his  Paradise,  by  placing  my  book  under 
the  protection  of  God,  Who  is  praised  and  blessed  throughout  all 
ages  ?" 

Such  is  the  close  of  the  Preface.  The  name  of  "  the  great  and  good 
God  "  is  inscribed  on  the  coping-stone  of  the  portico.  But  would  it 
be  vouchsafed  to  him  to  place  the  finishing  touches  on  the  edifice 
of  which  he  had  laid  the  foundations  ?  He  answered  his  vocation,  he 
accomplished  his  mission,  he  crossed  the  desert  following  the  column  of 


334  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

fire,  he  was  on  the  mountain  top  in  sight  of  the  Promised  Land.  Would 
he  enter  ?  He  has  just  told  us  his  apprehensions,  he  has  also  expressed 
his  resignation.  Has  it  not  been  said  of  that  Preface,  that  it  was  a 
literary  testament?" 

While  those  serene  lines  were  veiled  with  sombre  presentiment, 
another  great  grief  burst  on  Ozanam.  The  dear  one,  whom  he  had 
just  honoured  and  thanked  under  the  name  of  Beatrice,  fell  ill.  I 
read  a  little  later  in  his  correspondence  :  "  The  season  of  Spring,  from 
which  we  hoped  so  much,  has  been  a  season  of  grief.  All  my  thoughts 
are  now  occupied  in  restoring  the  health  of  my  wife  and  daughter 
before  the  coolness  of  autumn  sets  in."  "One  would  have  to  know 
Frederick  intimately,"  says  his  brother,  "  to  appreciate  what  his 
feelings  must  have  been  at  that  time :  I  remember  him,  more  dead 
than  alive,  saying  to  me,  '  I  cannot  see  Amelie  suffer  without  my 
heart-strings  being  torn."  Anticipating  the  holidays  a  little,  he  rented 
a  country  house  at  Sceaux,  where  he  placed  his  two  dear  invalids, 
whom  he  was  most  reluctant  to  leave.  But  that  was  the  last  month 
of  the  academic  year,  and  there  were  very  few  days  indeed  on  which 
he  had  not  to  go  to  Paris  for  the  grinding  work  of  academic  examina 
tions. 

He  was  joined  by  Jean  Jacques  Ampere,  who  had  returned  to  France 
for  a  short  time.  The  great  wanderer  divided  that  time  between 
Sceaux,  where  he  passed  from  Monday  to  Thursday,  and  Paris,  whither 
he  returned  for  the  business  of  the  Academy.  Then  he  finished  the 
week  at  Montreuil  near  Versailles,  staying  with  his  friend  Alexis  de 
Tocqueville. 

Ozanam  could  then  enjoy  regular  society  each  week,  if  not  each  day; 
delightful  society  which  he  had  longed  for :  "  Your  friends  cannot 
pardon  you  for  letting  them  live  the  winter  without  you.  The  un 
usually  beautiful  weather,  which  we  enjoy,  cannot  take  your  place. 
Would  Naples,  which  certainly  has  not  the  power  of  changing  members 
of  the  Academy  into  beasts,  would  it  have  Circe's  powers  of  making 
them  forget  their  native  land.  I  have,  indeed,  always  prayed  earnestly 
for  your  happiness  ;  but  yet,  I  do  not  like  the  thought  of  your  being 
so  happy  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  us." 

They  resumed  literary  discussion  and  revision.  Ozanam 's  writings, 
now  ready  for  the  great  outside  public,  required  that.  He  brought 
forward,  first,  the  Poetes  franciscains  that  offspring  of  his,  scattered 
through  the  files  of  the  Correspondant :  then  the  Cinquieme  Siecle 


THE  FRANCISCAN   POETS  335 

which  could  only  be  completed  with  the  help  of  Ampere,  and  which 
would  only  be  a  success  with  the  public,  through  him. 

We  have  referred  to  the  Poetes  fmnciscains  immediately  after 
Ozanam's  return  from  Italy  where  they  had  received  their  inspiration. 
To  appear  worthily  in  book  form  they  were  to  be  collated  and  ex 
panded  to  double  their  size  and  value.  In  Florence,  Ozanam  had 
found  a  collection  of  popular  legends  of  the  i4th  century,  the  Fioretti 
of  St.  Francis,  little  flowers  of  poetry  in  prose,  garnered  with  his 
harvest  of  historical  research  in  Italy,  "  as  the  convolvulus  is  gathered 
with  the  ripe  corn."  Ampere  agreed  that  they  should  have  a  place 
in  the  volume  of  the  Poetes  franciscains ,  following  the  articles  which 
had  now  grown  into  chapters. 

Ozanam's  sense  of  probity  warns  the  reader  in  the  preface,  that 
he  puts  forward  nothing  in  those  legends  for  the  faith  of  Catholics. 
He  takes  good  care  not  to  confound  those  popular  songs,  or  rhymed 
traditions,  with  Catholic  dogma  "no  more,"  he  says,  "than  f  con 
found  the  drops  of  dew  with  the  rays  of  the  dawn  that  accompany 
them." 

Neither  are  they  to  be  confounded  with  the  authentic  history  of 
St.  Francis,  which  he  believes  on  the  evidence  of  authoritative  con 
temporaries.  "  But  poetry  grows  up  side  by  side  with  history,  bom, 
not  of  falsehood,  but  of  the  universal  need  for  belief  and  admiration." 
That  is  for  him  the  source  of  the  Fioretti. 

But  those  flowers  have  also  their  fruit.  "  Do  not  charge  them  with 
silliness,"  protests  the  moralist.  "  Those  simple,  beautiful  flowers 
conceal  a  virile  doctrine  fit  for  freemen.  You  may  smile,  for  example, 
at  the  story  of  the  peace  which  St.  Francis  made  between  the  town  of 
Gubbio  and  the  mountain  wolf  ;  you  do  not  perceive  a  charming 
lecture  on  charity  delivered  to  the  just,  in  favour  of  poor  sinners. 
You  do  not  perceive  that  the  wolf,  a  robber  and  a  murderer,  but  still 
capable  of  being  taught,  who  places  his  paw  in  St.  Francis'  hand 
and  who  keeps  his  promise  to  injure  no  one,  is  a  type  of  the  people 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  Though  they  are  terrible  in  their  passions  the 
Church  does  not  despair  of  them.  She  takes  the  hand  of  the 
murderer  in  her  divine  hands,  and  holds  it  until  she  has  succeeded  in 
inspiring  him  with  a  horror  for  blood,  which  is  the  most  beautiful  and 
most  incontestable  characteristic  of  modern  morals." 

So  Ozanam  returns  along  flowery   slopes   to  his   thesis    of   social 
regeneration    and   the   civilisation    of   the   barbarians,   passing   via 


336  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Gubbio  to  Paris,  bearing  on  high  the  olive  branch  and  clasping  in  his 
charitable  and  merciful  hands  the  still  bloody  hands  of  vagabonds 
and  insurgents. 

Ozanam  selected  one  out  of  the  many  Franciscan  legends  and  en 
trusted  its  translation  to  his  wife  :  "  A  more  delicate  hand  than  mine," 
the  preface  reads,  "  has  done  into  French  one  of  the  most  pious, 
touching,  and  amiable  tales  of  the  Fioretti,  in  an  attempt  to  grip  more 
closely  the  simple  and  natural  turn  of  the  old  chronicler."  M.  Ampere 
adds  :  "In  our  evenings  at  Sceaux,  I  was  initiated  into  the  secret 
of  that  modest  piece  of  translation.  The  hand  which  Ozanam  des 
cribed  as  being  more  delicate  than  his,  was  strong  and  steady  enough 
to  hand  him  his  last  drink,  and  clasp  his  hand  for  the  last  time." 

The  volume  of  the  Poetes  franciscains  appeared  complete  in  1852. 
Ozanam  lived  to  see  Italian  and  German  translations,  while  many 
French  editions  appeared  in  succession. 

The  second  and  larger  work  in  preparation,  that  on  the  5 /A  Century, 
was  not  completed  that  term.  The  Preface  was  ready  by  Holy  Thurs 
day.  The  first  five  lectures,  revised  and  recast  by  the  author,  had 
appeared  in  the  Correspondant  under  different  titles,  Progres  dans  Us 
siecles  de  decadence,  £tudes  sur  le  Paganisme.  Ampere  writes  of  them 
as  follows  :  "  The  five  lectures,  now  preliminary  chapters,  form  one 
of  the  most  elevated  and  most  perfect  pieces  of  writing  which  that 
author  composed."  His  dear  friend,  Aristarque,  to  whom  he  submitted 
the  work  when  completely  revised,  recalls  with  deep  emotion  the 
reading  of  it  by  the  enfeebled  voice  :  "  It  was,"  wrote  Ampere,  "  in 
the  summer  of  1854  on  a  seat  which  I  still  see,  in  his  little  garden  at 
Sceaux,  that  Ozanam  read  his  picture  of  Paganism  to  me  ;  those  last 
days  when,  though  we  felt  uneasiness  on  his  behalf,  we  still  hid  it 
from  him.  May  I  be  permitted  to  remember  those  days  with  grief  and 
give  free  vent  to  tears  which  are  falling  on  this  paper  as  I  write." 

It  now  remained  to  re- arrange,  revise  and  re-cast  the  sixteen  lectures, 
of  which  the  Professor  had  only  shorthand  notes  in  addition  to  his 
own  notes.  That  was  more  than  sufficient  work  for  the  strength  and 
the  span  of  life  that  remained  to  him.  Ampere  was  setting  out  on  a 
trans- Atlantic  journey,  Ozanam  was  himself  sent  away  for  the  re 
mainder  of  the  holidays  to  take  sea-baths.  Neither  was  Sceaux  a 
place  of  quiet,  rest,  or  cure  :  "  I  counted  on  finding  peace,  leisure,  and 
health,  for  all  my  little  world  :  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  candidates 
for  Degrees  find  me  out,  their  weeping  mamas  force  my  door  open  ; 


OZANAM   IN    LONDON  337 

and  a  racking  cough  gives  me  rest  neither  night  nor  day."  Sceaux 
was  abandoned,  and  with  it  the  work  of  revision,  for  a  month.  Pendent 
opera  interrupta,  alas  !  would  the  work  be  ever  resumed  and  finished  ? 

Ozanam  went  to  Dieppe  in  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  August 
for  the  benefit  of  the  sea- air.  Ampere  followed  his  friends  thither. 
He  was  to  embark  at  le  Havre  for  England  to  see  the  Exhibition  at 
the  Crystal  Palace.  He  induced  Ozanam  to  accompany  him.  "  Ampere 
maintains,"  wrote  his  friend,  "  that  the  Professor  of  Foreign  Literature 
would  fail  in  his  obligations,  if  he  did  not  seize  the  opportunity  of  a 
cheap  trip  to  the  country  of  Shakespeare.  I  yield,  and  am  dragged  at 
his  wheel." 

But,  as  we  shall  see,  the  two  friends  did  not  spend  a  fortnight  in 
England  admiring  the  same  objects.  M.  Ampere  wrote  :  "  I  made  a 
little  trip  with  him  and  Madame  Ozanam  to  see  the  Exhibition  in 
England.  I  was  more  enthusiastic  than  he  over  the  wonders  of 
industry.  We  did  not  on  this  occasion  seem  to  be  at  one  in  admira 
tion,  as  we  had  been,  when  considering  Dante  and  the  Niebelungen. 
He  was  of  opinion  that  I  admired  England  too  much  and  overlooked 
the  Irish  unduly.  He  left  me  to  return  alone  to  the  Crystal  Palace, 
in  order  to  have  time  to  visit  the  slum  tenements  of  poor  Irish  Catholics. 
He  returned  in  a  state  of  great  emotion  ;  also  I  suspect  somewhat 
poorer  than  he  went."  We  must  here  reproduce  two  or  three  of 
Ozanam's  letters,  which  were  written  on  his  return  from  that  trip. 
They  show  how  that  rapid  survey  of  the  greatness  of  England  had 
been  spoiled  for  him  as  a  man  of  faith  and  charity  by  "  two  things 
which,"  he  wrote,  "  Englishmen  are  careful  not  to  expose  to  view,  and 
which  cursory  travellers  have  not  adverted  to,  when  they  say  that 
the  English  are  the  first  people  in  the  world.  Those  two  things  are 
the  wretched  condition  of  the  poor,  Pauperism,  and  the  violence  of 
anti-Papist  prejudice,  Anglicanism." 

Ozanam  visited  with  an  English  member  of  the  Society  oi  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  the  slums  in  which  Irish  workers  were  huddled  together. 
"  See  how  to-day  Catholic  charity,"  he  wrote,  "  bears  alms  with  a  kind 
word  to  those  pitiful  tenements  of  indescribable  poverty  !  What 
courage  did  not  our  English  brothers  need  to  shake  the  hands  of  those 
down  and  outs  in  an  aristocratic  land,  where  contact  with  the  poor 
declasses  and  degrades  !  Our  noble  English  brothers,  overcoming 
the  double  prejudice  of  nation  and  class,  are  doing  great  good.  I 
passed  a  very  pleasant  evening  in  their  midst." 

w 


338  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

"  The  second  cause  of  grief  to  him  who  visits  London  with  any 
regard  for  God's  interests  and  for  those  of  humanity,"  continues 
Ozanam,  "  is  the  hatred  of  the  Established  Church  for  Catholicism. 
Do  not  again  praise  that  people,"  he  wrote,  "  for  their  respect  for  the 
past ;  no  people  has  pushed  to  such  an  extent  its  hatred  for  the  Catholic 
past.  We  believed  in  their  spirit  of  toleration  for  twenty  years,  but  the 
old  Protestant  bigotry  was  only  held  in  leash ;  statesmen  were  always 
ready  to  slip  it  at  the  proper  time.  Then  you  see  its  fury."  It  was  the 
period  of  the  disturbances  caused  by  the  re-establishment  of  ecclesias 
tical  titles  which  were  directed  against  that  great  man,  whom  the 
Anglican  press  wished  to  discredit  by  calling  him  The  Beggars'  Bishopl" 

"  But  Catholicism  had  more  than  made  amends  in  Cardinal  Wiseman, 
and  those  two  other  great  spirits,  Newman  and  Manning,  whose 
example  won  many  converts  in  the  very  ranks  of  the  Anglican  clergy." 
Such  were  Ozanam 's  thoughts  on  his  return  from  a  visit  to  Oxford 
University,  the  cradle  of  the  new  movement.  He  did  not  fail  to  pray 
before  St.  Edward's  Shrine  in  Westminster  Abbey,  which  had  been 
mutilated  by  Protestant  iconoclasts.  Overcome  with  grief  at  such 
desecration,  the  pious  visitor  fell  on  his  knees  in  prayer,  in  expiation 
for  what  that  ingrate  people  had  done,  who  knew  not  their  own  saints. 
He  earned  the  contempt  of  the  crowd  of  bystanders  who,  doubtless, 
took  him  for  a  madman. 

What  Ozanam  sincerely  admired  in  England,  and  in  the  English 
people,  was  respect  for  law,  love  of  country,  the  colossal  power  of  in 
dustrial  labour,  and  the  fundamentally  religious  character  of  the  people 
as  evidenced  by  their  fidelity  to  the  Lord's  Day  of  rest,  from  one 
end  to  the  other  of  the  most  hard-working  country  in  the  world.  As 
for  the  Exhibition  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  it  was  not  in  that  fragile  and 
ephemeral  building,  a  mere  tent,  that  he  sought  the  secret  of  British 
greatness.  There  were  too  many  things  of  luxury  for  the  rich,  too  many 
causes  of  envy  and  covetousness  for  the  poor,  too  much  pandering  to 
artificial  needs,  too  much  uniformity  and  monotony  in  that  worldly 
spectacle,  ever  bringing  the  same  things  before  our  eyes.  "  Having 
seen  that  epitome  of  human  power  after  sixty  centuries  I  said  to 
myself  :  Can  man  not  do  anything  better  than  that  ?  Is  it  the  last 
word  in  human  genius  to  work  gold  on  silk,  to  mix  flowers  of  emeralds 
with  flowers  of  diamonds  ?  I  was  delighted  to  see  as  I  came  out, 
green  lawns,  fine  clumps  of  trees,  sheep  grazing  in  the  fields,  anything, 
in  fact,  that  was  not  a  manufactured  product." 


LAY  APOSTOLATE  339 

Ozanam,  on  his  return  to  Dieppe,  expatiated  on  the  charity  of  St 
Vincent  de  Paul  at  a  meeting  of  the  local  Conference  of  the  Society. 
His  visits  and  his  eloquent  words  were  not  soon  forgotten.  Twenty 
years  later  a  baker  could  repeat  his  addresses  to  the  descendants  of 
Ozanam,  who  fled  to  Dieppe  during  the  siege  of  Paris. 

Sceaux,  where  he  is  to  be  found  again  in  October,  had  not  a  Con 
ference.  When  Ozanam  had  gathered  together  a  number  of  suitable 
prospective  members,  it  appeared  that  the  town  had  no  poor.  "  What 
matter,"  he  said,  "  material  assistance  is  only  a  secondary  object  of 
the  Society  ;  sanctification  of  souls  is  the  principal  aim.  We  shall 
work  for  that."  A  nourishing  Confraternity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was 
established  for  young  girls  at  Sceaux  through  the  labours  of  the 
Conference.  The  Brothers  for  their  part  carried  out  a  lay  apostolate 
among  the  parishioners,  whom  they  brought  back  to  the  faith  and  the 
practices  of  religion.  One  will  not  be  surprised  at  that  when  it  is 
stated  that  one  of  the  members  was  the  illustrious  and  holy  Augustine 
Cauchy,  in  whom  Ozanam  found  again  the  same  piety  and  wisdom, 
which  he  had  formerly  found  in  the  great  Ampere. 

That  gave  him  the  greatest  spiritual  consolation  during  the  closing 
period  of  those  holidays.  His  strength  did  not  improve.  He  wrote 
to  Ampere  on  the  23rd  October  :  "  I  am  doing  a  little  work,  but  very, 
very  slowly,  and  with  great  difficulty.  I  cannot  scrawl  over  a  single 
page,  while  you  out  there  cover  one  hundred  miles.  I  am  finding 
peace  and  calm  here  in  the  country  at  Sceaux.  The  leaves  are  going 
but  peace  abides." 

That  peace  lay  in  himself.  He  had  found  its  source  in  the  moral 
virtues  which  beautified  his  domestic  life,  his  friendships,  his  charitable 
activities.  We  shall  be  edified  by  the  contemplation  of  that  complete 
life,  before  we  close  this  work  with  the  story  of  a  two  years  agony, 
crowned  with  a  death  which  was  still  more  beautiful  than  his  life,  a 
death  which  is  wonderful  in  the  eyes  of  men  and  precious  in  the  sight 
of  God. 


340 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

HIS  INTIMATE  LIFE. 

FAMILY .  — RELIGION.  —CHARITY .  —FRIENDSHIP . 

Ozanam  described  to  Ampere  in  a  letter  from  Sceaux,  dated  22nd 
October,  1851,  his  domestic  happiness  darkened,  it  is  true,  by  a  cloud 
which  was  growing,  but  behind  which  he  saw  and  blessed  the  sun  of 
the  will  of  God  :  "  My  state  of  health  render  many  duties  and  pleasures 
impossible  ;  but  I  admire  the  dispensation  of  Providence,  which  will 
not  permit  us  to  acclimatise  ourselves  here  below.  I  had  done  every 
thing  to  make  life  comfortable  ;  and  you  have  greatly  helped.  You 
know  whether  I  have  made  my  home  happy  !  God  does  not  will 
that  I  should  take  root  in  that  happiness.  He  leaves  me  the  joys  of 
the  heart,  he  sends  me  the  pains  of  the  body  ;  I  bless  Him  for  my  lot. 
But  I  am  praying  Him  not  to  prolong  the  trial.  I  look  after  myself 
as  well  as  I  am  able,  or  rather  I  let  my  kind  friends  do  that  for  me." 

In  a  letter  to  M.  Dufieux  on  the  i6th  February,  some  months  later, 
his  sufferings  appear  solaced  by  the  contemplation  of  the  happiness 
of  those  near  and  dear  to  him.  He  wishes  that  his  friend  could 
witness  that  happiness  :  "  Besides  the  place  which  you  have  in  my 
daily  prayers,  I  should  wish  to  see  you  form  one  of  our  fireside  group, 
as  you  led  me  to  expect  you  would.  You  would  find  my  domestic 
circle  happier  than  ever,  because  all  are  in  good  health.  I  am  the  least 
well  in  the  home,  and  yet  I  can,  not  without  fatigue,  almost  deliver 
my  lectures.  I  thank  God  for  such  favours  and  am  resigned  to  the 
suffering  which  He  sends  with  them.  One  of  my  greatest  griefs  is 
that,  having  studied  deeply,  I  believe  I  have  some  ideas,  without  the 
strength  to  reproduce  them.  My  friend,  may  God  grant  you  domestic 
happiness  which  makes  up  for  many  ills  !  Give  me  your  hand  that  I 
may  clasp  it  as  an  old  friend." 

He  described  his  "  little  daughter  Marie  who  was  playing  in  the 
garden,  the  sounds  of  whose  merry  voice  reached  him  ;  and  Amelie 


THE  FAMILY  GROUP  34I 

by  his  side,  cheering  him  with  her  kindly  face."  The  loving  father 
surrounded  the  child  with  every  care,  not  overlooking  anything  which 
could  amuse  and  entertain  her,  and  showering  on  her  the  graces  of  his 
mind  and  the  affection  of  his  heart.  Thus  on  a  July  day,  when  Marie 
was  indisposed  owing  to  the  great  heat,  he  brought  her  a  little  fan  on 
which  was  written  the  following  verses : 

Prends-le  pour  remplacer  les  deux  ailes  legeres 
Cue  portent  dans  le  ciel  les  cherubins  tes  freres 
Et  qui  te  defendraient  les  ardeurs  du  soleil, 
Ou  te  rafraichiraient  d'un  mouvement  pareil. 
Mais,  lorsque  Dieu  te  fit,  petit  ange  sur  terre, 
Pour  essuyer  les  pleurs  dans  les  yeux  de  ta  mere, 
Je  demandai  pour  toi  tous  les  dons  precieux 
Dont  I'Esprit- Saint  revet  les  anges  dans  les  cieux  : 
Pour  toi  je  demandai  leurs  graces  immortelles, 
Leur  foi,  leur  purete,  tout — excepte  leurs  ailes— 
De  peur  qu'il  ne  te  vint  quelque  jour  le  desir 
De  retourner  la-haut  sans  nous,  et  de  t'enfuir.* 

We  shall  see  other  verses  dedicated  to  the  mother,  of  a  still  more 
lofty  sentiment  and  heavenly  charm. 

Between  the  figures  of  the  mother  and  daughter,  Ozanam's  corres 
pondence  introduces  the  sweet  personality  of  the  grandmother.  She 
had  been  stricken  down  by  the  double  loss  of  husband  and  son. 
Ozanam  mourned  for  them  with  her  :  "  My  beloved  mother,  you  have 
become  by  your  affliction  more  venerable  and  more  lovable  than 
ever,  for  I  see  you  now  with  your  head  crowned  with  thorns."  After 
Theophile's  death  :  "  My  dearest  wish  is  to  fill  the  place  rendered 
vacant  by  his  death  ....  Am  I  not  a  son  ?  More  than  you  think, 
more  than  I  can  say.  But  why  have  I  not  the  virtue,  courage,  humility 
and  holiness  of  him  who  is  no  more  ?"  Ozanam  had  insisted  on  her 
coming  to  Rome,  to  her  daughter  and  himself,  after  that  sad  bereave 
ment.  'To  join  us  under  the  sacred  arches,  to  receive  here  the 
blessing  of  the  same  Pope  who  blessed  him  in  his  illness,  that  is  not 
disloyalty  to  his  memory."  Ozanam  took  charge  of  the  family  affairs 
after  the  father's  death.  He  writes  about  his  wife,  daughter,  and 
himself  as  follows  :  "  My  dear  mother,  we  shall  endeavour  to  soften 

*Take  it  in  place  of  the  two  airy  wings  which  thy  brothers,  the  cherubim,  in 
heaven  possess  ;  those  wings  would  ward  off  from  thee  the  heat  of  the  mid- day 
sun,  or  with  a  simple  movement  would  cool  thee.  When  the  good  God  made 
thee,  a  little  angel  on  this  earth  to  dry  thy  mother's  tears,  I  prayed  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  would  bestow  on  thee  the  precious  gifts  of  the  angels,  their  immortal 
grace,  their  faith,  their  purity,  everything — but  their  wings — fearing  lest  the 
desire  to  return  to  thy  heavenly  home  should  visit  thee  and  that  thou  wouldst 
then  take  wing  from  us. 


342  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

your  exile  by  giving  you,  if  not  days,  at  least  some  hours  of  consolation. 
You  will  see  how  well  we  love  you,  and  darling  Mary,  now  able  to  ap 
preciate  your  tenderness  better,  will  put  her  little  arms  around  your 
neck  and  dry  your  tears  with  kisses." 

Religion  made  a  sanctuary  of  that  home.  Ozanam  was  a  man  of 
prayer  ;  all  his  letters  offered  that  incense.  He  remembered  his 
friends  in  prayer  and  asked  to  be  remembered  by  them  in  return. 
He  became  a  more  frequent  Communicant,  approaching  the  Holy 
Table  now  on  Sundays  and  Feast-days.  He  had  a  habit  of  reading 
for  half-an-hour  every  morning  a  chapter  from  holy  books,  marking 
the  passages  which  had  struck  him,  in  order  to  hold  them  the  better 
in  his  thoughts  during  the  day.  He  called  it,  his  "  daily  bread."  It 
was  generally  the  Gospels  which  furnished  the  reading.  He  read  them 
in  the  Greek  text,  filling  his  mind  with  the  words  and  virtues  of  Jesus 
Christ.  His  day  consisted  in  translating  them  into  action.  He  did 
not  understand  piety  to  be  other  than  the  loving  imitation  of  Our  Lord, 
and  the  faithful  observance  of  His  law. 

His  life  was  illumined  by  supernatural  views  of  a  very  high  order. 
We  read  the  following  in  his  letters  :  "  It  is  from  Heaven  that  our  eyes 
will  find  the  light  and  the  strength  which  we  stand  in  need  of,  to 
discharge  the  duties  and  provide  the  needs  of  this  life.  The  very 
best  way  to  appreciate  mundane  affairs  at  their  true  value  and  to 
weigh  them  calmly  and  dispassionately,  is  to  view  them  from  on  high 
and  to  regard  them  as  things  that  do  not  concern  us.  The 
reality  of  life  is  on  high.  What  have  we  here  on  earth  but  our  good 
works,  which  are  to  accompany  us,  and  God,  Who  visits  us  ?" 

The  visit  of  God  in  Holy  Communion  threw  him  into  transports  of 
faith.  He  wrote  as  follows  :  "  In  the  inexpressible  sweetness  of  Holy 
Communion  and  in  the  transport  which  it  causes,  there  is  a  power 
for  conviction  which  would  enable  me  to  embrace  the  Cross  and  defy 
unbelief,  should  all  the  world  have  abjured  Christ." 

His  sentiments  for  Jesus  Christ  were  those  of  the  most  complete 
surrender,  the  liveliest  confidence,  the  most  filial  tenderness.  He 
gave  Him  his  life,  accusing  himself  of  his  earlier  anxiety  for  the  future, 
of  his  present  anxiety  for  his  health,  offering  to  Him  with  his  life,  as 
we  shall  see,  all  that  makes  life  worth  living  for,  happiness,  love, 
renown. 

He  aimed  at  doing  the  will  of  God  in  his  duties  as  a  citizen,  as  a 
Christian,  as  a  husband  and  father  ;  but  with  a  very  lofty  and  pure 


VISITATION  OF  THE  POOR 


343 


intention  :  "  Our  Lord  makes  us  ask  in  His  prayer  that  His  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven.  Not  as  it  is  in  Hell,  where  it  is  done 
of  necessity,  nor  among  men,  where  it  is  often  done  with  murmuring 
but  as  it  is  m  Heaven,  with  the  love  and  the  joy  of  angels." 

Ozanam  was  a  hard  judge  of  himself.  The  world  thought  him 
great,  he  thought  himself  little  ;  the  world  thought  him  good,  he  thought 
himself  unworthy.  He  believed  that  he  owed  his  position  to  hard 
work  and  the  grace  of  God  ;  he  had  no  opinion  whatever  of  his  genius 
it  was  not  a  source  of  strength,  but  of  weakness.  "  His  conscience 
does  not  spare  him/'  He  describes  himself  as  being  irresolute,  in 
decisive,  emotional,  blown  about  by  every  wind  of  vain  impression 
and  uneasiness,  clouding  all  his  happiness.  He  does  not  regard  him 
self  as  worthy  of  happiness.  His  brother  wrote  :  "  Finding  him  one 
day  sad  and  depressed,  I  enumerated  the  many  reasons  he  had  for 
being  happy.  That  is  true,  he  answered.  It  is  precisely  because  I 
am  so  very  happy,  that  I  fear  that  some  misfortune  is  about  to  happen 
to  me."  He  always  decided  against  himself  in  a  matter  of  doubt ;  it 
cost  him  more  to  do  so  ;  he  thought  it  was  the  surest  course— which 
is  not  always  true— because  it  meant  greater  self-sacrifice,  and  that 
sacrifice  was  an  act  of  love. 

That  heart  which  was  severe  towards  himself  was  a  brother's  heart 
towards  his  neighbour.  Besides  the  immense  family  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  all  of  whom  he  embraced  in  his  charity,  Ozanam  had  his  own 
poor,  the  poor  of  his  own  Conference,  whose  visit  and  service  were  a 
religious  act  for  him.  He  always  removed  his  hat  on  entering  their 
poor  homes  :  "  I  am  here  to  serve  you."  He  never  preached  to  them. 
Having  given  what  he  had  to  give,  he  sat  down  and  chatted  about 
anything  that  could  interest  them. 

The  visit  was  instructive  and  beneficent  to  himself.  He  relates 
that  one  day,  when  in  a  depressed  frame  of  mind,  something  inspired 
him  to  visit  his  poor.  lie  was  quite  another  man  when  he  returned. 
What  were  his  imaginary  troubles  compared  to  the  terrible  reality 
of  such  sufferings  !  What  a  lesson  he  had  received  !  He  said  one 
day  in  Florence  :  ' '  How  often  has  it  not  happened  that  being  weighed 
down  by  some  interior  trouble,  uneasy  as  to  my  poor  state  of  health, 
I  entered  the  home  of  the  poor  confided  to  my  care  ;  there,  face  to- 
face  with  so  many  miserable  poor,  who  had  so  much  more  to  complain 
of,  I  felt  reproached  for  my  depression,  I  felt  better  able  to  bear  sorrow, 
and  I  gave  thanks  to  that  unhappy  one,  the  contemplation  of  whose 


344  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

sufferings  had  consoled  and  fortified  me  !     How  could  I  avoid  hence 
forward  loving  him  the  more  !" 

When  the  poor  came  to  his  home  he  did  not  keep  them  waiting  at 
the  door,  but  took  them  at  once  into  his  study,  where  he  gave  them  a 
comfortable  chair  and  behaved  towards  them  as  if  they  were  visitors 
to  whom  he  wished  to  do  honour.  1 1  was  a  holiday  trip  for  him  to  go 
and  wish  a  happy  New  Year  to  his  poor,  and  to  distribute  little  presents 
to  their  children.  Pere  Lacordaire  relates  the  following  incident. 
One  morning  in  1852,  Ozanam  mentioned  to  his  wife  the  case  of  a 
family  who  were  driven  to  such  extremities  that  they  had  been  obliged 
to  pawn  the  last  article  that  remained  of  their  former  comfort.  He 
said  that  he  would  like  to  restore  it  to  them  that  day.  His  wife  dis 
suaded  him  from  doing  so  for  good  and  sufficient  reasons.  Ozanam 
was  downhearted  in  the  evening  when  he  returned  from  his 
official  duties.  He  looked  askance  at  his  daughter's  piles  of  toys  and 
would  not  touch  the  chocolates  which  she  offered  him.  It  was  easy 
to  see  that  he  was  sorrowing  for  the  good  deed  left  undone  in  the  morn 
ing.  His  wife  relented  and  encouraged  him  to  do  as  he  had  first 
wished.  He  set  out  at  once  to  redeem  the  article  of  furniture,  saw  it 
himself  into  the  house  of  the  poor  people,  and  came  back  home  per 
fectly  happy. 

He  had  been  more  than  once  deceived  by  unworthy  clients  of  his 
charity.  "  An  Italian  whom  he  had  helped,  and  for  whom  he  had 
obtained  a  situation  in  a  business  house,  betrayed  the  confidence 
which  he  had  placed  in  him.  Having  fallen  again  into  destitution, 
he  again  sought  Ozanam's  assistance.  Ozanam  lost  his  temper, 
turned  him  out  of  the  house  and  told  him  not  to  dare  to  return.  But  the 
unfortunate  fellow  was  scarcely  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairs  when 
Ozanam's  conscience  smote  him.  He  told  himself  that  it  was  a  very 
bad  thing  to  drive  anyone  to  despair,  that  he  himself  would  one  day 
need  God's  pardon,  which  he  had  just  refused  to  grant  to  one  in  His 
likeness  and  image.  He  snatched  his  hat  and  ran  after  the  Italian, 
whom  he  found  walking  aimlessly  in  the  Luxembourg  Gardens." 

According  as  Ozanam  advanced  in  the  esteem  of  the  academic 
world,  his  pleasure  at  finding  himself  amid  the  working  classes  in 
creased.  That  was  apparent  in  the  Society  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  and 
in  the  Workmen's  Club  of  the  Crypt  of  St.  Sulpice,  to  which  he  was 
ever  faithful.  It  was  during  those  later  years  that  he  composed  for 
them  a  Vie  populaire  de  Saint  Eloi,  the  patron  saint  of  metal-workers.  j» 

I 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  SOCIETY  345 

It  is  in  a  simple,  beautiful  style,  the  glorification  of  Christian  work. 
He  says  at  the  close  of  it :  "  If  all  cannot  advise  princes,  redeem 
captives,  evangelise  infidels,  as  St.  Eloi  did,  all  can  serve  God  by 
prayer  and  our  country  by  work.  All  can  do  honour  to  the  work 
room  by  probity  and  sobriety,  by  the  charity  which  respects  masters, 
unites  companions,  protects  apprentices.  All  can  help  the  poor  if 
not  with  money,  at  least  with  a  good  deed  or  a  kind  word.  Lastly, 
if  all  cannot  be  great,  all  can  become  saints." 

Ozanam  rejoiced  at  the  great  impetus  which  the  recent  appointment 
of  M.  Adolphe  Baudon  as  President-General  had  given  to  the  Society 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  It  also  enabled  him  to  efface  himself  the  more. 
What  a  Council  that  was,  at  which  were  sitting  by  his  side  such  men 
as  M.  Leon  Cornudet,  Vice-President ;  M.  de  Barante,  Secretary  ;  M. 
Cochin  and  M.  Louis  de  Beaudicour,  Vice-Secretaries  ;  members  such  as 
Messieurs  Bailly,  Gossin  (junior),  Le  Prevost,  Henri  de  Riancey,  Lauras, 
Armand  de  Melun,  de  Raincourt,  de  Champagny,  Ferrand  de  Missol ; 
and  a  little  later  Messieurs  d'  Indy,  Cauchy,  de  Malartic,  Eugene  de 
Margarie,  etc.  Ozanam  nominated  Messieurs  Lallier  and  Le  Tail- 
landier  honorary  members  of  the  Council.  That  was  a  link  with  the 
early  days  of  the  Society. 

The  year  1851  with  which  we  are  dealing,  saw  247  aggregations  of 
new  Conferences  in  the  new  and  the  old  hemispheres.  The  Report  said 
of  the  progress  in  England  :  "  It  has  been  stated  that  the  Exhibition 
in  the  Crystal  Palace  has  obliterated  the  sea  which  separates  the  two 
countries.  But  of  all  the  overhead  or  submarine  wires  connecting 
them,  the  most  electric  is  undoubtedly  that  of  charity.  That  wire 
can  unite  all  and  everything  ;  it  links  hearts  together,  it  links  Heaven 
and  earth  together." 

It  was  not  alone  love  for  the  cause  of  charity,  but  still  more  his 
concern  for  the  progress  of  Catholic  Faith  that  interested  Ozanam 
in  the  currents  of  thought  in  the  different  European  States,  particularly 
in  Germany,  which  was  just  then  much  agitated  by  sects.  I  read  in  a 
letter  to  M.  Bore,  dated  28th  September,  1851  :  "  When  you  are 
writing,  please  tell  me  what  is  thought  in  Bavaria  of  the  late  religious 
agitation  in  Germany.  Is  there  any  serious  danger  for  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  rantings  of  wretched  people,  who  seem,  to  us  far  away, 
to  be  so  ill-qualified  to  impress  a  great  nation." 

"  When  it  is  reported  that  twenty  or  thirty  parishes  have  gone  over 
to  the  Ronge  or  de  Czevsky  schisms,  is  that  to  be  taken  to  mean  entire 


346  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

parishes,  or  only  some  ringleaders,  who  claim  to  represent  the 
parishioners?  How  very  difficult  it  is  to  establish  the  faith  solidly 
in  German  minds  !  The  troubles  of  the  Church  are  indeed  great  in 
this  century  ;  and  poor  France,  who  is  thought  so  badly  off,  is  not 
the  worst  of  all." 

He  acknowledged  with  thanks  some  months  later  the  receipt  of  some 
articles  taken  from  the  Bavarian  Press  on  the  religious  state  of  the 
country  :  "  I  read  with  very  great  interest  the  account  of  the  ter 
centenary  celebration  of  the  Council  of  Trent.  Such  accounts  ought 
to  be  reproduced  in  the  Catholic  Press.  The  piety  of  the  good  people 
of  the  Tyrol  makes  us  blush  for  our  lukewarmness  and  should  inspire 
us  with  greater  zeal  in  the  service  of  God.  Too  often  we  regard  our 
selves  as  having  discharged  all  our  obligations  towards  Him,  when 
we  have  used  up  a  few  pens  or  a  little  ink." 

M.  Ampere,  who  was  Ozanam's  most  intimate  friend  in  his  closing 
years,  speaks  of  him  as  follows  :  "  Those,  who  have  read  his  corres 
pondence,  know  the  incomparable  grace  of  his  mind  :  they  will  also 
have  noticed  his  invariable  courtesy.  He  was  never  rude.  Gaiety 
of  spirit  was  indissolubly  allied  to  seriousness  of  mind."  Another 
friend  who  had  known  him  all  his  life,  says  :  "  Nobody  enjoyed  a  good 
joke  better.  He  was  not  too  high-brow  for  a  good  laugh,  that  great 
pleasure  in  life  ;  even  when  suffering  made  that  impossible,  any 
pleasant  incident  produced  a  playful  rail}-."  His  humour  sparkled  in 
little  society  verses,  with  which  he  entertained  his  guests  and  holiday 
companions.  Such  a  piece  was  a  longish  poem  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  verses,  which  he  forwarded  in  the  name  of  M.  de  La  Villemarque 
and  in  his  own,  to  the  address  abroad  of  their  mutual  friend,  M.  Ampere. 
It  commemorated  in  Homeric  metre  and  mock-heroic  style,  a  wrestling 
match  which  he  had  witnessed  at  some  Breton  festival. 

His  amiable  character  was  not  without  its  moments  of  impatience 
characteristic  of  Frenchmen  :  "  Stop  that  or  I  shall  lose  my  temper  !" 
and  he  proceeded  forthwith  to  lose  his  temper.  But  the  first  fit  over, 
he  became  overwhelmed  with  confusion  and  begged  pardon  humbly 
and  frankly. 

On  the  other  hand  he  could  deliver  a  sharp  reprimand  with  apposite- 
ness  when  occasion  demanded.  During  his  tour  in  Brittany  he  found 
himself  one  day  in  the  diligence  face  to  face  with  a  young  soldier  in  a 
brand  new  uniform.  The  latter  was  pestering  a  young  lady  sitting 
next  him  with  his  attentions.  Ozanam,  on  tenter-hooks,  first  called 


HIS    FRIENDSHIPS  347 

his  attention  to  the  respect  due  to  women,  which  is  the  foundation 
of  French  courtesy.  The  young  cad  did  not  pay  any  attention  to  that 
view  of  the  case.  He  replied  impertinently  that  that  did  not  concern 
him  and  that  he  did  not  recognise  the  right  of  anyone  to  lecture  him. 
That  is  exactly  where  you  are  mistaken,  young  man,  replied  Ozanam, 
that  is  precisely  what  I  am  employed  by  the  Government  to  do. 
The  fancy  young  foot-soldier  was  non-plussed.  What  then  could  this 
gentleman  be,  who  wore  decorations  and  who  was  an  official  of  the 
Government  ? 

It  can  be  readily  understood  how  admirably  such  a  mind,  character, 
and  heart  were  formed  for  friendship.  A  whole  chapter  could  be 
devoted  to  Ozanam's  numerous  friends.  They  were  family,  literary, 
academic,  political,  home,  Parisian,  and  foreign.  All  his  friendships 
were,  in  a  sense,  religious  ;  that  characteristic  is  the  key  to  them 
all.  The  oldest  friendships  were  the  best.  Francois  Lallier  was, 
and  always  continued  to  be,  the  strong  religious  spirit  to  whom  the 
friend  unbosomed  his  weakness  and  his  tenderness.  He  could  not  get 
on  without  him  now  more  than  at  any  other  time.  He  thought  of 
bringing  him  to  Lyons  to  be  near  himself  :  "  What  a  pity  it  is  that  you 
are  not  a  Lyons  man.  That  is  all  that  is  wanting  in  you."  In  response, 
Lallier  paid  two  memorable  visits,  one  during  the  vacation  of  1837 
and  one  towards  the  close  of  1839.  Ozanam  was  at  Sens  in  1840  for 
"  a  charming  visit  of  a  day  which  he  would  have  been  glad  to  have 
made  a  month."  Back  in  Lyons  he  gave  an  account  of  his  visit  to 
their  old  friends  in  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul :  "  You  are  ever 
dear  to  them.  I  could  not  satisfy  the  enquiries  of  La  Perriere,  Arthaud, 
Chaurand.  All  would  have  been  delighted  to  have  been  on  the  trip. 
There  was  great  joking  about  your  son  ;  they  pictured  him  already 
clothed  with  the  paternal  gravity.  They  all  send  you  congratulations." 

When  in  1842  Lallier  lost  a  charming  daughter,  Julie,  in  the  flower 
of  her  youth  and  promise,  Ozanam  wrote  him  a  consoling  letter  wet 
with  tears  :  "  My  dear  friend,  God  visits  those  most  whom  He  loves 
best."  That  is  the  opening  phrase.  He  then  congratulated  him  on 
the  faith  which  sustained  him  in  such  a  trial.  "  My  dear  friend,  it  is 
of  faith  that,  Christian  families,  marriage,  paternity,  all  those  sacred 
ties  exist  in  order  to  people  Heaven.  You  had  already  one  saint  in 
Paradise,  your  mother  ;  you  will  have  now  an  angel  in  your  daughter. 
Between  them  the}'  will  keep  your  place  for  you.  If  you  find  that  you 
have  too  long  to  wait  to  join  them,  remember  that  thirty  years  will 


348  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

soon  pass ;  you  and  I   know  what  that  means."      Three  pages  full 
of  similar  holy  sentiments. 

There  are  eighty  such  letters  to  Lallier,  in  which  the  human  and  the 
divine  are  blended  harmoniously.  In  1848  Lallier  went  up  for  election 
as  a  Deputy  in  the  Department  of  Yonne,  as  Ozanam  did  in  that  of 
the  Rhone.  Their  professions  of  faith  are  alike  :  "  I  find  in  your 
address  the  expression  of  my  own  feelings  and  my  own  thoughts,  the 
picture  of  the  republic  which  I  will  and  that  which  I  will  not  have." 

Three  years  later  the  question  presented  itself  to  Lallier  whether  he 
ought  to  remain  at  Sens  or  apply  for  a  judicial  position  in  Paris,  where 
his  son  was  about  to  begin  his  studies.  Ozanam's  reply  was  that  the 
consideration  which  should  outweigh  all  others  was  not  domestic 
interest,  nor  advancement,  nor  friendship,  but  the  better  service  of 
God,  of  the  Church,  of  good  works.  Lallier  remained  at  Sens. 

Lallier  was  godfather  to  Ozanam's  child  :  "  Pray  for  your  little  god 
daughter,  not  forgetting  her  parents.  A  sacred  bond  unites  us  hence 
forth  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man."  On  the  other  hand  Lallier's  son, 
who  was  resident  in  Paris  in  the  Poiloup  pension,  was  like  one  of  the 
family  in  Ozanam's  house.  A  reference  to  him  is  found  in  the  following 
letter,  dated  i4th  April,  1852  :  "  To-day,  Wednesday  in  Easter  Week, 
we  have  your  Henri  with  us  after  a  long  Lenten  captivity.  He  is 
growing  in  mind  and  body,  is  always  gentle  and  does  not  scorn  to 
take  part  in  the  games  of  our  little  daughter.  We  are  about  to  take 
them  with  us  now  to  the  Champs-filysees.  The  weather  is  glorious 
and  if  we  succeed  in  locating  Punch  and  Judy,  the  children  will  have 
touched  the  pinnacle  of  earthly  happiness." 

The  bond  of  union  between  Ozanam  and  Janmot  was  the  memory  of 
of  their  first  Holy  Communion  together  and  of  the  sermons  of  the 
Abbe  Noirot.  Ozanam  wrote  to  him  in  1849  :  "  The  identity  of  our 
views,  after  so  many  years'  separation,  brings  us  closer  together  than 
ever.  I  have  not  yet  told  you  how  1  enjoyed  your  all-too-short  stay 
with  us  at  Versailles.  Your  long  absence  was  forgotten,  and  our 
strolls  in  the  Park  brought  back  to  memory  our  promenades  in  Lyons 
and  the  many  hours  which  we  spent  together  after  Sunday  Mass. 
Alas  !  There  are  so  few  of  those  now  in  our  ranks,  who  made  their 
first  Holy  Communion  with  us,  or,  who  were  with  us  in  College." 

Janmot,  the  painter,  had  conceived  the  grandiose  idea  of  a  work 
of  spiritual  art  which  would  be  entitled  :  Le  Poeme  de  lame.  He 
communicated  that  concept  to  his  friend  who  replied  :  "  That  will  be 


MORE  FRIENDS  349 

the  work  of  your  life.  I  can  see  you  obsessed  with  that. beautiful 
conception,  each  succeeding  year  realising  it  in  part,  until  you  will 
present  it  finished  to  the  world  for  the  honour  of  God  and  the  edifica 
tion  of  man.  May  the  same  grace  that  inspired  the  idea,  preserve 
your  strength  to  carry  it  on  to  completion." 

When  Ozanam  fell  ill  in  Paris,  Janmot  was  the  most  assiduous  of 
friends  at  his  bedside  :  "  I  shall  never  forget  the  friendly  anxiety  with 
which  you  came  each  day  of  my  illness  to  feel  my  pulse  and  to  shake 
my  hand  with  the  grip  of  an  old  school  comrade,  and  a  fellow  First 
Communicant.  My  wife  and  relatives  are  indebted  to  you  for  the 
portrait  of  one  whom  they  all  love." 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  friend,  may  the  guardian  angel  of  great 
inspirations  guide  your  brush  !  You  are  so  good  that  you  deserve 
to  be  very  happy." 

Ernest  Falconnet  was  more  than  a  friend  ;  he  was  a  brother.  Read 
the  following  letter  which  Ozanam  wrote  to  him  as  early  as  1831  : 
'  Yes,  my  dear  friend,  we  are  brothers  in  faith,  in  studies,  in  age,  in 
projects,  brothers  in  blood,  and  in  one  and  the  same  future.  Our 
lives  shall  be  twin-lives."  It  was  to  him  that  Ozanam  confided  his 
first  student  impressions  of  Paris.  When  Ernest  launched  out  into 
the  world  Ozanam  wrote  to  him  as  follows  :  "  The  world  is  a  file  of 
steel  which  wears  out  many  young  lives  ;  do  not  expose  yours  to  it. 
A  Christian,  a  believer  in  God,  in  humanity,  in  country,  in  family, 
never  forget  that  your  life  belongs  to  them,  not  to  yourself  ;  that  it 
would  be  a  thousand  times  better  to  languish  in  obscurity  for  half  a 
century,  edifying  others  with  a  spirit  of  resignation  and  doing  some 
little  good,  than  to  be  intoxicated  for  a  few  brief  months  with  worldly 
pleasure,  and  then  die  in  its  delirium." 

When  their  paths  separated,  Ernest  took  that  which  led  to  a  place 
in  the  Court  of  Appeal.  The  friendly  relations  became  strained,  but 
did  not  break.  In  July,  1851,  Ernest  suffered  a  great  sorrow  in  the 
loss  of  his  father  "  whose  example  had  been  the  light  and  the  honour 
of  his  life."  Frederick  hastened  to  write  him  a  letter  full  of  the  re 
collection  of  childhood,  of  friendship,  of  Christian  hope  :  "  My  dear 
friend,  let  us  pick  up  the  links  of  the  chain  connecting  us  with  one 
another  and  with  those  whom  we  have  lost.  ...  I  know  only  one 
consolation  for  such  sorrow,  it  is  that  God  has  taken  what  He  had 
given.  In  taking  them  to  Himself,  He  compels  us  too  to  take  the  road 
to  Heaven.  Blessed  be  our  sainted  mothers  who  first  taught  us  to 


350  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

tread  that  path  !  When  they  taught  us  as  children  to  believe,  to  hope 
and  to  love,  they  were  building  unwittingly  the  staircase  by  which 
we  should  climb  up  to  them  again  after  we  had  lost  them.  Happy 
those  who  know  how  to  live  with  the  dead  !  It  is  frequently  the  best 
way  to  discharge  one's  duties  towards  the  living." 

Because  there  is  not  any  other  consolation  to  offer,  we  find  it  again 
occuring  in  a  letter  of  condolence  to  M.  Felix  Nourisson.  He  was  a 
Christian  philosopher,  he  had  been  a  student  of  Ozanam's,  and  was 
later  to  fill  a  Chair  in  the  College  of  France.  He  had  just  lost  his 
father,  and  Ozanam  wrote  to  him  as  follows  on  the  2nd  of  April,  1851  : 
'  My  dear  friend,  do  not  forget  that  He  Who  afflicts  you,  is  also  a 
Father."  And  closing  the  letter  :  "  May  Our  Lord  crucified  assist 
you.  He,  even  He,  on  the  Cross  would  seem  to  be  separated  from 
His  Father,  crying  aloud  :  Father,  Father,  why  hast  Thou  abandoned 
Me  ?  He  understands  your  afflicted  cries,  He  is  blessing  you  because 
you  are  good  and  because  you  are  in  sorrow.  In  virtue  of  those  two 
titles  you  are  powerful  with  Him.  Pray  for  me." 

M.  Dufieux  was  one  of  the  dear  friends  in  Lyons  of  whom  Ozanam 
wrote  :  "  Never  think  that  I  am  growing  accustomed  to  doing  without 
my  Lyons  friends,  my  old  and  true  friends.  Nothing  can  take  their 
place,  not  even  the  friendships  which  I  have  been  able  to  form  in 
Paris."  He  makes  mention  of  the  days  when  Dufieux  introduced 
him  to  Lamartine  at  St.  Point :  "  Was  not  that  the  starting  point  of 
our  friendship  ?"  He  now  invited  him  to  come  and  see  him  in  Pans  : 
"  Come,  I  should  enjoy  nothing  better  than  an  hour  with  you  in  the 
beautiful  Luxembourg  avenues  which  are  at  my  door.  We  can  talk 
of  yourself,  your  children,  health,  difficulties  and  hopes."  He  would 
also  speak  of  his  trials,  for  Dufieux  had  passed  through  the  crucible  of 
suffering.  Ozanam  admired  him  because  he  had  come  out  stronger 
and  better,  and  had  transformed  the  torrent  of  afflictions  into  a  river 
of  good  works  that  would  never  run  dry.  "  Share  that  wealth  of 
charity  by  offering  up  to  Our  Lord  for  me  some  of  the  blessed  things 
that  you  have  done.  I  know  that  none  of  your  suffering  is  lost,  for 
you  have  plaited  a  crown  with  it  for  the  life  to  come.  It  is  in  that  I 
should  follow  your  example,  for  I  do  not  yet  know  how  to  suffer. 
Pray  for  me." 

His  friends  were  warned  to  avoid  any  appreciation  which  was  not 
strictly  true  :  "  I  know  of  course,"  wrote  Ozanam,  "  that  friendship 
is  half  blind  ;  but  you  see  too  clearly,  and  you  have  too  much  intelligence 


FRANKNESS  35I 

not  to  appreciate  my  shortcomings."  Friends  prefer  frankness 
between  one  another  :  "  There  is  no  true  friendship  without  frankness. 
Rest  assured,  therefore,  that  you  do  me  a  real  service  in  opening  your 
heart  to  me.  One  of  two  things  will  happen  ;  either,  your  fears  on  my 
account  are  groundless,  when  you  will  have  afforded  me  the  oppor 
tunity  of  dispelling  them  ;  or  you  are  right,  as  you  will  generally  be, 
and  your  warning  will  enable  me  to  correct  my  many  faults.  Those 
words  of  the  psalmist  asking  God  to  '  correct  him  through  the  voice 
of  a  friend/  have  always  appealed  to  me." 

The  most  cordial  unity  existed  between  the  two  Vice-presidents 
of  the  Council-General,  Ozanam  and  Cornudet.  Ozanam  admired  in 
Cornudet  "loyalty  in  character,  business  grasp,  and  efficiency  in 
matters  of  State,  which  made  him  indispensable  to  the  Government." 
He  admired  still  more  his  rare  Christian  virtues,  prudence  in  counsel, 
and  a  kindness  of  heart  which  was  equal  to  any  sacrifice  for  a  friend  : 
"  Cornudet  is  one  of  those  men  in  whose  company  everything  is  clear 
and  genial,"  he  used  to  say. 

Cornudet  had  furnished  a  report  to  the  State  Council  on  the  very 
delicate  matter  of  the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  the  Orleans 
family.  He  reported  courageously  against  confiscation,  and  was 
promptly  dismissed.  That  anticipated  injustice  was  received  with 
serene  calm  :  "  What  do  you  think  of  the  reverse  that  Cornudet  has 
suffered  ?"  Ozanam  wrote  to  Lallier.  "  He  behaved  splendidly  under 
such  misfortune.  The  letter  which  he  wrote  me  on  the  matter  was 
marvellously  simple,  calm,  charitable,  and  in  every  way  worthy  of  a 
great  Christian.  There  still  remain,  thank  God,  models  to  do  honour 
to  our  age."  Ozanam  wrote  him  again  two  years  later  from  Pisa  : 
"  Here,  in  this  wonderful  Cathedral  radiating  faith,  beauty  and  love 
I  have  prayed  with  all  my  might  for  justice  for  him  who  has  experienced 
the  injustice  of  men." 

The  editing  of  the  Correspondant  created  another  circle  of  friends 
for  Ozanam.  His  letters  merely  mention  Edmond  Wilson,  de  Carne, 
Edmond  de  Cazales,  Dr.  Gouraud,  Charles  Lenormant,  Frantz  de 
Champagny,  Melchior  du  Lac.  The  personality  of  Theophile  Foisset 
overshadows  all.  Ozanam  recalls  that  they  prayed  together  at  the 
same  altar  at  Bligny.  "  Ah  !"  he  cried,  "  would  it  not  be  indeed 
difficult  for  Christians  to  forget  one  another  when  they  have  enjoyed 
such  moments  together."  He  wrote  also  to  him  :  "  Allow  me  to 
express  my  very  warm  gratitude  to  you  for  the  affectionate  freedom 


352  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

with  which  you  unbosom  your  heart  to  me.  Everything  in  it  moves, 
attracts  and  edifies  me.  Please  continue  such  a  charming  friend 
ship."  He  moderated  his  own  judgment  on  the  events  of  1848  in 
accordance  with  that  of  Foisset :  "  I  cannot  bear  the  thought  of  a 
serious  difference  with  a  mind  and  a  heart  that  I  love  as  you  know." 
Why  had  he  not  had  such  a  friend  in  Paris  !  "We  should  have  ex 
changed  our  thoughts  and  our  anxieties,  we  should  have  spoken  little 
evil  of  our  neighbour  but  much  good  of  Divine  Providence,  to  Whom 
I  give  thanks  for  many  things,  but  Whom  I  can  never  sufficiently 
thank  for  having  given  me  such  a  friend  as  you  !" 

That  great  and  humble  Friar,  Pere  Lacordaire,  requested  Ozanam 
on  one  occasion  to  let  him  know  frankly  what  defects  people  found 
in  his  preaching.  Ozanam  was  dumbfounded,  and  at  first,  declined. 
But  that  was  to  refuse  justice.  He  had  a  fit  of  remorse  the  same 
evening,  Monday,  the  2Qth  September,  1851.  He  offered  his  excuses 
and  made  reparation  in  the  following  letter  :  "  My  dear  Reverend 
Father,  you  asked  me  a  question  this  morning  as  a  friend,  and  I 
answered  it  as  a  stranger,  as  one  whom  you  would  not  allow  to  tell 
the  truth.  My  conscience  is  not  easy  at  the  answer  which  I  have 
given.  I  am  too  much  attached  to  you,  and  too  warm  an  admirer  of 
your  preaching,  not  to  repeat  observations  which  I  have  heard  made, 
as  you  ask  for  them  and  as  they  may  tend  to  the  good  of  souls." 

He  proceeds  to  mention  them  :  "  The  fondness  for  strange  words, 
the  startling  nature  of  some  comparisons,  the  too  frequent  use  of 
profane  allusions  in  a  sacred  subject,  a  touch  of  the  old  Romanticism, 
a  little  carelessness  in  the  printed  text  of  sermons  which  are  destined 
to  be  immortal.  .  .  .  For,  my  dear  Reverend  Father,  the  great 
congregation  in  Notre  Dame  is  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the 
number  of  the  absent,  and  of  the  future  generations  who  must  hear 
your  word."  Ozanam  was  thanked. 

I  should  be  glad  to  be  able  to  quote  also  something  from  Ozanam's 
correspondence  with  Viscount  de  La  Villemarque,  M.  Eugene  Rendu, 
etc.  It  would  add  to  the  variety  of  shades  which  the  sentiment  of 
Christian  friendship  received  from  that  pen,  which  was  so  delicate 
and  so  rich  in  tones  and  colours.  But  I  must  hurry  on  to  come  to 
him,  who  was  the  friend  par  excellence,  particularly  in  the  closing 
years,  M.  Jean  Jacques  Ampere,  in  order  that  we  may  see  the  fire  of 
Christian  zeal,  the  radiating  splendour  of  love,  shine  forth  in  all  their 
glory. 


ANXIETY  FOR  AMPERE  353 

It  was  about  that  time  that  M.  Ampere  was  setting  out  from  London 
for  Canada  and  the  United  States.     Ozanam  exhibited  uneasiness 
at   that  departure.     The  reasons  for  it  were  deeply-rooted      Jean 
Jacques,  who  was  very  much  a  man  of  the  world  and  always' on  the 
move,  who  was  very  open  to  the  scepticism  of  the  German  schools 
among  whose  masters  he  counted  personal  friends,  had  not  inherited' 
as  we  have  already  said,  the  religious  spirit  of  his  illustrious  father 
in  its  entirety.     His  honest  and  sincere  soul  felt  the  want.     Notwith 
standing  the  consuming  activity  of  his  life,  the  conceits  of  his  imagina 
tion,  the  cares  of  the  world,  and  the  curious  taste  for  enquiring  of 
his  vast  intelligence,  the  faith,  which  he  did  not  possess,  made  its  want 
felt  and  left  no  rest  in  a  heart  which  was  made  for  belief.     He  admired 
it  in  Ozanam,  whose  example  was  for  him  a  silent  Gospel.     Ozanam 
had  kept  silence.     But  could  he  continue  to  maintain  that  silence 
when  his  friend  was  about  to  put  the  ocean  of  space  and  many  months 
of  time  between  them,  without  any  assurance  that  they  would  ever 
see  each  other  again.     Therein  lay  the  deep-rooted  cause  for  that 
sorrow,  which  Ozanam  had  forced  himself  up  to  then  to  conceal.     He 
could  no  longer  do  so.     On  the  gist  of  August,  before  Ampere  left 
London  for  New  York,  Ozanam  wrote  him  an  admirable  letter  from 
Dieppe.     It  must  be  quoted  almost  in  full. 

He  first  recalled  the  many  remarkable  acts  of  kindness  of  his  friend  ; 
he  proceeds  then  to  ask  leave  to  speak  to  him  of  an  important  matter 
with  the  freedom  of  a  brother,  but  with  the  respect  and  the  deference 
due  to  an  elder  brother 

"  Are  you  astonished,  my  dear  friend,  at  the  sadness  which  I  feel 
at  your  departure  ?  I  could  not  tell  you  verbally  wherein  the  cause 
of  it  lies,  because  I  did  not  wish  that  you  should  b~  obliged  to  answer 
me.  If  I  am  writing  to  you  now  it  is  because,  if  the  outpouring  of  my 
heart  is  indiscreet,  the  seas  that  are  bearing  you  to  America  will 
obliterate  all  recollection  of  the  indiscretion.  When  we  shall  see  each 
other  in  six  months  time,  my  letter  will  be  forgotten,  and  nothing  of 
what  will  have  displeased  you  will  remain  to  cloud  the  joy  of  your 
return." 

"  My  dear  friend,  you  suffer  much  fatigue  which  is  not  without 
danger  to  your  health  ;  please  excuse  my  uneasiness.  You  are  seeking 
out  new  interests  to  occupy  your  mind,  and  you  are  making  a  tour  of 
the  world  for  that  purpose.  Yet  there  exists  one  sovereign  interest, 
one  Good  capable  of  attracting  and  of  filling  your  great  heart.  I  fear, 


354  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

my  dear  friend,  I  fear,  perhaps  unjustly,  that  you  do  not  think  enough 
of  that  ?  You  are  a  Christian  at  heart,  by  the  blood  of  your  incom 
parable  father  ;  you  discharge  all  the  duties  of  Christianity  to  men  ; 
must  they  not  also  be  discharged  towards  God  ?  Must  we  not  serve 
Him,  must  we  not  live  in  continuous  communication  with  Him  ? 
Would  you  not  find  infinite  consolation  in  such  a  service  ?  Would 
you  not  find  the  security  of  eternity  ?" 

The  subject  was  opened  up,  the  conscience  awakened.  The  letter 
continues  :  "  You  have  given  me  reason  to  think  more  than  once  that 
such  sentiments  were  not  strangers  to  your  heart.  Your  research 
has  brought  you  into  contact  with  so  many  distinguished  Christians  ; 
you  have  known  so  many  eminent  men  who  closed  their  lives  in 
Christian  peace.  Such  examples  invite  you,  but  the  difficulties  of 
belief  hold  you  back.  I  have  never  ventured  to  talk  over  such  matters 
with  you,  because  you  have  infinitely  more  knowledge  and  wisdom 
than  I." 

"  Let  me,  however,  say  that  there  are  but  two  schools,  Philosophy 
and  Religion.  Philosophy  has  its  inspirations.  It  knows,  but  does  not 
love,  God.  It  has  never  caused  a  single  one  of  those  loving  tears  to 
fall,  which  come  to  the  eyes  of  a  Catholic  in  Holy  Communion,  Whose 
incomparable  sweetness  and  consolation  is  worth  the  sacrifice  of  life. 
If  I,  poor  and  weak  as  I  am,  have  known  that  sweetness,  what  will 
it  be  with  you,  whose  character  is  so  lofty  and  whose  heart  is  so  good. 
You  would  find  in  it  the  interior  evidence  before  which  all  doubts 
flee.  Faith  is  an  act  of  virtue  and  therefore  an  act  of  the  will.  We 
must  will  to  believe,  we  must  surrender  our  soul,  and  then  God  gives 
light  superabundantly." 

Then  this  simple  remark,  this  frightened  cry,  which  fears  many 
things  that  find  no  utterance  :  "  Ah  !  my  dear  friend,  if  you  should  fall 
ill  some  day  in  an  American  city  without  a  friend  at  your  bedside, 
remember  that  there  is  not  a  spot  of  any  importance  in  the  United 
States,  to  which  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  has  not  drawn  the  steps  of  a 
priest,  to  console  the  Catholic  traveller " 

The  reply  was  not  long  in  coming  ;  two  days  later  Ozanam  received 
the  following  letter  from  England  :  "  My  very  dear  and  good  friend, 
I  do  not  wish  to  lose  a  minute  in  thanking  you  for  your  letter.  Offend 
me  ?  You  would  not  be  my  friend  if  you  had  felt  otherwise  ;  in  any 
case  I  would  have  known  that  you  felt  so,  even  if  you  had  not  written. 
Forgive  me  if  I  do  not  answer  your  arguments.  Believe,  that  the 


AMPERE  AND  OZANAM  355 

sight  of  Catholic  orthodoxy  in  a  mind  like  yours  is  for  me  a  sermon 
more  eloquent  than  any  speech." 

Then  a  postscript :  "  I  came  across  the  little  cripple  yesterday  at 
Waterloo  Bridge  and  I  gave  him  something  from  us  four." 

Those  few  lines  written  in  haste  and  posted  in  London  were  the  last 
written  by  J.  J.  Ampere  from  Europe.     The  next  letter,  dated  the  2nd 
October,  was  post-marked  Montreal.     It  ushered  in  a  journey  of  two 
thousand  miles,  which  he  has  described  under  the  title  Promenade 
en  Amerique.     But  he  never  omitted  to  write  to  Ozanam  who,  on  his 
part,  exhausted  all  the  charm  of  his  mind,  his  friendship  and  his 
loyalty  to  bring  him  back  to  France.*     Those  two  men,  those  two 
brothers  were  never  to  see  one  another  again.     When  Ampere  returned 
to  Paris,  Ozanam  was  about  to  depart,  very  ill,  never  to  return.f 
He  is  to  be  found  henceforward  wherever  the  doctors  order  him  for  a 
cure,  if  that  is  to  be,  for  "  the  Hand  of  the  Lord  has  touched  him." 
He  is  first  in  the  Pyrenees,  at  Eaux-Bonnes,  at  Biarritz,  and  on  to  the 
"  land  of  the  Cid  "  in  Spain.     He  is  to  be  found  soon  afterwards,  for 
the  winter,  on  the  warm  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  at  Nice,  Florence, 
Pisa,  San  Jacopo.     So  many  stations  along  the  Way  of  the  Cross,  at 
which  he  falls,  rises,  and  falls  again  ;  each  station  bringing  him  nearer 
to  Calvary,  showing  him  nearer  to  God  on  the  sublime  heights  of 
sacrifice  and  holiness.     We  have  now  to  follow  his  whole  being  up 
the  heroic  final  ascent,  his  mind,  his  heart,  his  inspiration,  and  his 
love,  to  see  the  most  wonderful  spectacle  that  is  to  be  seen,  the  close 
of  a  beautiful  life,  still  more  beautiful  in  death. 


*His  uneasiness  continued.  He  confided  to  M.  de  La  Villemarque",  their 
mutual  friend,  who  shared  his  fears,  that  "  the  dear  traveller  astonishes  and 
terrifies  me.  I  am  always  afraid  to  learn  that  he  is  in  some  villianous  town  at 
the  edge  of  woods,  suffering  from  some  terrible  attack  and  tended  by  an  American 
doctor.  I  seem  to  see  him  friendless,  and  hundreds  of  miles  from  a  priest. 
Let  us  pray  for  him.  His  friends  must  pray  for  him.  Do  not  forget  him  above 
all  in  the  evening  family  prayer  to  God,  in  which  we  took  part  last  year  with  such 
edification  and  consolation." 

f  Ampere  continued  to  seek  the  truth.  Fifteen  years  later  he  wrote  to  a 
friend  as  follows  :  "  I  persevere  in  the  search  for  truth  in  good  faith.  Nobody 
desires  it  more  sincerely  than  I,  and  I  offer  up  this  prayer  each  night  to  God, 
'  Enlighten  me.'  "  He  reached  the  desired  goal  when,  on  the  27th  March,  1864, 
he  was  brought  suddenly  face  to  face  with  sovereign  truth  and  infinite  mercy. 
M.  Guizot  related  to  the  French  Academy  in  feeling  terms  his  consoling  end. 


356  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

The  present  Life  of  Ozanam  suggests  another  volume,  complementary  to  this, 
a  biography  of  each  of  his  chief  friends  and  fellow- members  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  in  Paris  and  in  Lyons.  Some  have  already 
been  done  :  Lamache  by  M.  Paul  Allard  ;  Lallier  in  the  Semaine  religieuse  de 
Rouen,  1887  ;  others  in  notices  which  are  not  for  sale.  The  Lyons  colony  and 
its  first  urban  Conferences,  would  have  a  place  of  honour  in  such  a  volume. 
M.  Prosper  Dugas'  life  has  been  given  by  his  son.  What  an  escort  of  honour 
would  not  the  following  names  furnish  for  the  name  of  Ozanam,  Baron  Chaurand, 
Dr.  Arthaud,  Paul  Brae  de  La  Perriere,  Henri  Pessonneaux,  Dufieux,  Rieussec, 
Antoine  Lacour,  the  painter  Louis  Janmot,  etc.  I  have  barely  noticed  them 
en  passant,  but  they  are  still  remembered  in  a  city  which  has  been  edified  by 
their  example  and  benefited  by  their  service.  M.  le  Baron  Chaurand  was  the 
most  notable  of  Ozanam's  fellow- workers  among  the  group  of  Lyons  students 
in  the  foundation  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  He  was  born  in  the 
same  year  as  Ozanam,  1813.  He  was  a  Barrister- at- Law  at  the  Royal  Courts 
of  Lyons  in  1 836,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Lyons  Gazette,  a  large  landed  pro 
prietor  in  Vivarais  and  Lyons,  president  of  the  agricultural  and  vine  growing 
societies  in  Lyons.  He  was  a  Deputy  for  Ardeche  in  the  National  Assembly, 
and  introduced  a  Bill  to  provide  for  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest.  He  was  devoted 
to  the  Count  of  Chambord,  an  ardent  defender  of  the  Holy  See  in  the  organisation 
of  the  Pontifical  Army,  in  which  his  two  sons  enlisted  under  the  command  of 
General  de  Charette.  He  was  a  founder  and  promoter  of  Conferences  of  the 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  with  his  three  brothers-in-law,  Antonin,  Vincent, 
and  Felix  Serre,  even  in  the  little  parishes  of  Vivarais.  He  was  a  man  ever 
ready  to  engage  in  any  good  work  down  to  the  date  of  his  death,  which  oc 
curred  on  the  6th  October,  1896.  It  can  be  written  of  him  that  there  was  not, 
during  a  period  of  sixty  years,  in  Lyons  or  its  neighbourhood,  any  religious, 
charitable,  economic,  or  social  work,  to  which  he  did  not  give  active,  able  and 
generous  support. 

Louis  Janmot  is  not  such  an  outstanding  personality,  but  he  is  a  man  of  extra 
ordinarily  attractive  mind,  apparently  very  akin  to  Ozanam,  his  fellow  First- 
Communicant.  He  was  a  disciple  like  Ozanam  of  the  Abbe  Noirot  in  Lyons, 
and  sat  by  Ozanam's  side  in  the  first  Conference  of  the  Society  of  St.  \  incent  de 
Paul  in  Paris.  Janmot,  who  was  a  pupil  of  Ingres,  belongs  as  a  painter  to  the 
school  which  is  honoured  by  the  name  of  H.  Flandrin,  also  from  Lyons,  Amaury 
Duval,  Signol,  Mottez,  Paul  Baize.  But  it  was  especially  on  the  early  Italians 
and  mystical  Franciscans  that  he  modelled  his  work.  Lyons  possesses,  or  did 
possess,  two  of  his  frescoes  of  The  Last  Supper,  one  at  the  Hospice  of  Antiquaille, 
the  other  at  the  Church  of  St.  Polycarpe.  He  was  also  represented  by  a  charm 
ing  triptych  in  the  Cathedral  representing  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  Infant 
Jesus  between  two  angels.  In  Paris  he  decorated  the  old  Chapel  of  the  Fran 
ciscans  in  the  Rue  Falguiere  and  the  stoning  of  St.  Stephen  at  St.  Etienne  du 
Mont,  frescoes  of  a  lofty  Christian  sentiment  and  masterly  execution. 

The  School  of  Painting  which  he  inaugurated  in  Lyons  took  precedence  over 
the  State  School  ;  Lyons  remembers  it  still  with  pride.  But  it  was  in  the  privacy 
of  his  studio  that  he  showed  his  Christian  genius  in  a  series  of  one  hundred  great 
paintings  entitled  Le  Poeme  de  I'dme.  Only  the  sketches  for  that  work  are  extant ; 
they  have  been  edited  by  Thiollier.  It  is  indeed  the  poem  of  his  own  soul,  annota 
ted  by  a  volume  of  mystical  poetry  exhibiting  a  delicate  imagination.  The  volume 
concludes  with  these  strophes  inscribed  on  the  Mortuary  Card  of  his  pious  death  : 

O  Seigneur,  O  Jesus,  comment  ne  pas  vous  suivre  ?  Pour  qui  vous  a  connu 
yos  sentiers  sont  si  doux  !  Celui  qui  pres  de  vous  un  jour  s'est  senti  vivre.  Peut- 
il  vivre  un  seul  jour  sans  vous  ?* 

*O  Lord  Jesus  !  How  could  one  fail  to  follow  in  Your  footsteps  ?  Your  paths 
are  so  easy  to  one  who  has  had  the  happiness  to  know  You.  Can  one,  who  has 
felt  the  joy  of  living  near  You  for  one  single  day,  become  reconciled  to  living  one 
single  day  without  You  ? 


357 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ILLNESS.— THE  PYRENEES.— SPAIN.— PILGRIMAGES. 
THE     LAST     COURSE      OF     LECTURES— THE     PYRENEES— NOTRE     DAME     DE 

BURGOS — "THE  LAND  OF  THE  CID" — THE  CORNICHE  ROAD. 


1852. 

The  stay  at  Sceaux,  and  particularly  the  sea  air  at  Dieppe,  had 
improved  Ozanam's  health,  at  least  temporarily.  After  an  enforced 
extension  of  holidays,  he  felt  himself  bound,  towards  the  end  of 
December,  to  resume  his  lectures  in  the  Sorbonne.  His  brother,  the 
priest,  endeavoured  to  dissuade  him  :  "  No,"  he  replied,  "  I  have  a 
duty  to  perform.  What  would  you  say  of  a  soldier  who  refused  to 
go  into  the  breach  for  fear  of  death  ?  I  ought  to  be  at  my  post.  I 
shall  die  at  it  if  necessary."  He  assured  his  doctors  that  inaction 
would  be  more  fatal  to  him  than  sickness.  "  I  am  a  worker  and  I 
must  do  my  day's  work."  But  his  day's  work  was  done,  and  the  hour 
was  approaching  when  he  would  receive  his  wage. 

Warned,  but  not  cured,  he  ascended  his  Professorial  Chair.  But 
if  we  are  to  credit  one  of  his  letters  to  Ampere,  he  looked  after  himself 
a  little  :  "  I  am  careful  to  incur  less  fatigue  in  speaking.  I  do  not 
seek  to  be  impassioned  when  there  is  no  emotion.  I  remain  seated, 
and  the  audience  does  not  object.  Some  pretext  is  occasionally 
sought  for  applause  in  order  to  stir  me.  But  the  young  men  are 
mostly  quiet  and  studious. 

The  short  winter  term  of  1852  was  passed  in  this  manner.  Carried 
away  by  his  desire  for  work,  he  wrote  on  the  I2th  February  :  "  Although 
my  strength  is  slow  in  returning,  I  am  nevertheless  getting  on  much 
better."  He  even  attempted  to  resume  the  revision  of  his  Cinquibne 
Siecle  :  "  But,  as  soon  as  I  attempt  to  do  any  work,  my  terrible  weak 
ness  is  apparent.  I  do  not  know  how  I  shall  finish,  if  I  do  not  regain 


358  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

some  strength But  God  Who  sent  me  the  sorrow  of  ill-health, 

leaves  me  the  joys  of  the  heart.  I  bless  Him  for  that  lot."  The  pen 
drops  from  his  fingers,  yet  he  writes  again  :  "  One  of  my  greatest 
griefs  is  that  having  studied  deeply,  I  believe  I  have  some  ideas, 
without  the  power  to  reproduce  them."  It  was  in  that  anguished 
state  of  mind  that  the  end  was  to  find  him. 

Easter  vacation  provided  a  period  of  repose.  He  was  delighted 
with  the  prospect  of  going  with  his  wife  and  child  to  Lallier  at  Sens 
to  spend  Easter  week.  On  Easter  Sunday  he  wrote  as  follows  :  "  My 
dear  friend,  the  Holy  Communion  in  Notre  Dame  this  morning  was 
magnificent.  Nearly  two  thousand  were  present,  praising  and  blessing 
God  and  joining  in  the  holy  mysteries.  It  is  indeed  the  truth  that 
the  merits  of  that  Sacrifice  are  never  exhausted,  and  that  the  Saviour 
is  present  to  the  faithful  in  His  Church  to-day,  as  in  the  early  days  of 
Christianity.  I  did  not  forget  you,  my  dear  friend,  at  the  altar,  and 
I  am  sure  that  you  did  not  forget  me." 

He  did  not  go  to  Sens.  He  was  down  with  fever  almost  immediately 
after  Easter  Sunday,  and  had  to  endure  sufferings  that  put  his  virile 
courage  to  the  test.  He  was  obliged  to  take  to  his  bed,  and  it  was  from 
there  that,  at  the  last  moment,  he  requested  the  Dean  to  notify  the 
postponement  of  his  course  of  lectures.  M.  de  La  Villemarque,  who 
came  to  see  him,  gives  an  account  of  the  pathetic  scenes  which  took 
place  at  his  house  and  in  the  Sorbonne. 

When  the  students  read  on  the  notice-board  that  they  must  give 
up  for  the  time  being  the  idea  of  hearing  Ozanam,  there  was  first  a 
feeling  of  disappointment  which  turned  quickly  into  one  of  dis 
satisfaction.  "  Indeed  the  Professors  take  things  easy  and  make  no 
difficulty  about  dropping  lectures,  for  which  they  are  well  paid." 
They  ignored  the  fact  that  the  master  was  ill. 

Ozanam  was  much  upset  when  he  heard  of  it.  The  lecture  had  been 
written  out.  He  did  not  hesitate  :  "  I  shall  deliver  it,"  he  said ; 
"  the  honour  of  the  profession  must  be  upheld."  As  the  time  ap 
proached  for  the  lecture  he  got  up  out  of  his  bed,  in  spite  of  the  pro 
tests  of  his  friends,  the  tears  of  his  wife,  and  the  command  of  his 
doctors.  He  was  driven  to  the  Sorbonne  where  he  got  out  leaning 
on  a  friend's  arm.  He  appeared  quite  unexpectedly  in  the  lecture-hall, 
emaciated  and  white  as  a  sheet. 

Seized  with  remorse  and  pity,  the  students  gave  him  a  splendid 
reception.  Having  obtained  silence,  he  said  in  a  deep,  clear  voice  : 


THE  LAST  LECTURE  359 

"  Gentlemen,  our  age  is  charged  with  selfishness,  and  professors  are 
stated  to  be  affected  with  the  general  complaint.  Yet,  it  is  here  that 
we  wear  out  our  health,  and  use  up  our  strength.  I  do  not  complain, 
our  life  is  yours  ;  we  owe  it  to  you  to  the  last  breath,  and  you  shall  have 
it.  As  for  me,  if  I  die,  it  will  be  in  your  service." 

He  delivered  his  lecture  with  unparallelled  eloquence  and  power. 
It  would  not  be  possible  to  describe  the  enthusiasm  and  emotion  of 
the  audience.  There  was  a  presentiment  that  they  were  listening  to 
him  for  the  last  time.  When  he  had  risen  from  the  chair,  and  was 
leaving  the  hall  amid  the  congratulations  of  his  friends,  one  of  them 
shook  his  feverish  hand  saying  :  "  You  were  wonderful."  "  Indeed," 
said  Ozanam  with  a  smile,  "  now  I  must  see  about  getting  a  night's 
rest." 

He  did  not  get  that  night's  rest.  He  took  to  his  bed  at  once,  show 
ing  symptoms  of  the  most  alarming  character.  It  was  indeed  a 
farewell  which  he  had  just  given  to  an  audience  who  had  loved  and 
acclaimed  him  for  twelve  years. 

Lacordaire's  fears  were  aroused  when  he  heard  of  what  had  occurred. 
He  was  then  in  his  monastery  at  Flavigny,  to  which  he  had  betaken 
himself,  after  giving  up  the  pulpit  in  Notre  Dame  and  residence  in 
Paris.  He  wrote  to  Ozanam  "  scolding  him  for  his  imprudence, 
ordering  him  to  confine  himself  absolutely  to  his  lectures  for  some 
years  to  come,  and  to  use  the  rest  of  his  time  for  travel  and  relaxa 
tion."  Was  that  not  even  too  much  ?  He  continued,  "  Remember, 
my  dear  friend,  that  you  are  one  of  the  small  number  of  Catholic 
writers,  who  have  done  honour  to  the  Church  in  our  country  by  their 
talent  and  character  ;  you  have  kept  yourself  free  from  the  ex 
cesses  and  tergiversation  which  trouble  us  in  so  many  others.  Do 
stay  with  us.  Alas  !  we  pass  all  too  quickly,  and  even  if  life  is  a  poor 
thing  for  itself,  we  must  yet  cling  to  it  for  the  sake  of  others." 

The  illness  grew  worse.  "  I  have  been  at  death's  door,"  he  wrote 
afterwards.  "Pleurisy  was  running  its  course  violently  and  would 
have  carried  me  off,  but  for  the  skill  and  attention  of  my  brother,  the 
care  of  my  family,  the  prayers  of  my  friends,  and  the  mercy  of  God." 
His  physical  strength  failed  completely  after  that  attack,  but  neither 
his  charity  nor  his  apostolic  zeal,  as  will  be  clear  from  a  letter  dated 
i6th  June,  1852.  It  is  a  monument  to  both. 

While  he  was  ill,  Ozanam  had  had  a  visit  from  one  of  his  former 
fellow-students  on  a  mission  of  charity.  The  latter  writing  to  him, 


FREDERICK  OZANAM 

recalled  their  former  discussions  when  as  he  said,  "  Young,  and  loving 
truth,  we  chatted  together  with  Lallier  about  things  eternal."  But 
the  friend  admitted  that  his  former  doubts  still  tormented  him,  and 
he  confided  his  trouble  to  his  dear  comrade  who  was  happy  and  en 
lightened. 

Though  he  rarely  left  his  bed,  and  his  room  not  at  all,  Ozanam 
risked  everything  for  the  salvation  of  his  friend.     His  reply  is  nothing 
less  than  the  demonstration  of  the  fundamental  Catholic  principles. 
It  opened  by  insisting  on  the  importance  of  the  element  of  mystery  in 
the  untathomable  depths  of  the  infinite.     He  answers  the  objection 
of  cruelty  raised  against  the  dogma  of  eternal  punishment :  "  Do  those 
who  regard  that  dogma  as  inhuman,  argue  so  because  humanity  is 
dear  to  them  ?    No,  but  because  they  fail  to  realise  adequately  the 
malice  of  sin  and  the  justice  of  God."     Ozanam  insists  further  on  the 
proof,   which   his   own   experience   furnished   him,   of  Christianity: 
"  through  which  had  come  to  him  the  faith  of  his  youth,  the  light  and 
strength  of  his  mature  years,  the  sanctification  of  his  domestic  happiness 
and  consolation  in  his  suffering."     It  is  here  that  occurs  the  passage 
which  has  been  already  quoted  :  "  There  is,  in  the  inexpressible  sweet 
ness  of  Holy  Communion,  and  in  the  tears  which  it  brings,  a  power 
for  conviction  which  would  enable  me  to  embrace  the  Cross' and  defy 
unbelief,  should  all  the  world  have  abjured  Christ." 

For  ten  years  Ozanam  had  been  examining  the  history  of  Christianity 
independently  of  that  interior  evidence.  Each  step  in  that  examination 
confirmed  his  conviction.  So  much  for  the  proof  from  History. 
Then  the  Social  proof  :  "  I  have  proved  to  my  own  satisfaction  that  it 
s  to  the  Gospel  that  we  owe  Liberty,  Fraternity  and  Equality  ;  that 
the  greatness  and  the  happiness  of  society  in  the  mass,  as  of  individuals, 
depend  on  it.  You  do  not  perhaps  sufficiently  appreciate,  my  dear 
friend,  to  what  an  extent  that  belief  in  Christ,  which  is  represented 
as  extinct,  still  actuates  humanity  ;  or  how  much  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  is  still  beloved  ;  or  how  He  continues  to  raise  up  examples  of 
virtue  and  devotion  not  surpassed  in  the  early  ages  of  the  Church." 

Then  the  following  ardent,  personal  supplication  :  "  Ah  !  my  friend, 
my  dear  friend,  let  us  not  lose  ourselves  in  endless  discussion.  We 
have  not  two  lives,  one  to  seek  truth  and  another  to  practise  it.  There 
fore,  Christ  does  not  oblige  us  to  look  for  Him  ;  He  shows  Himself 
living  in  Christian  society  around  us  ;  He  is  before  you,  He  is  inviting 
you.  You  will  soon  be  forty  years  of  age,  it  is  time  for  you  to  make  up 


TO  EAUX-BONNES  361 

your  mind.  Surrender  to  your  Saviour,  Who  is  calling  you.  Give 
yourself  over  to  belief  in  Him  as  so  many  of  our  friends  have  done  ; 
you  will  find  peace  in  that.  Your  doubts,  like  mine,  will  be  dissipated! 
You  are  so  little  short  of  being  an  excellent  Christian  ;  merely  an  act 
of  the  will ;  to  will  to  do  so,  is  to  believe.  Wish  for  that  ;  wish  for  that 
at  the  feet  of  the  priest,  who  will  bring  down  the  blessing  of  Heaven 
on  your  wavering  will.  Have  that  courage,  my  friend,  have  that 
faith.  Will  your  salvation,  be  a  Christian,  be  happy.  That  is  the 
prayer  of  your  friend  for  you." 

I  am  assured  that  the  wish  was  granted.  How  could  the  urgent 
prayer  of  a  breaking  heart  be  refused,  a  heart  which  even  here  sends 
this  farewell :  "  I  am  so  little  better  that  I  am  to  be  sent  to  the 
springs  in  the  Pyrenees.  I  shall  pass  the  autumn  by  the  seaside  and 
the  winter  probably  in  the  South." 

Three  weeks  after  the  date  of  that  letter,  on  the  i6th  July,  Ozanam 
left  Paris,  as  soon  as  the  state  of  his  health  permitted,  not  without 
regret.  "  It  is  a  great  trial  for  me  to  see  my  work  suspended  and  my 
career  interrupted,  at  a  time  when  I  have  to  canvass  for  membership 
of  the  Academy.  But  we  must  learn  how  to  make  sacrifices  when 
God  demands  them,  and  to  ask  Him  for  the  grace  to  do  His  will  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven." 

The  journey  from  Paris  to  Eaux-Bonnes  was  made  by  easy  stages 
in  ten  days.  Ozanam  made  a  stay  at  Orleans,  Tours,  Poitiers,  in  which 
he  was  interested  from  a  religious  point  of  view.  Afterwards  he  visited 
the  South,  from  Bordeaux  to  Pau,  and  never  failed  to  pay  a  visit  to 
the  Conference  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in  each  city. 

The  establishment  of  a  Conference  at  Eaux-Bonnes  was  his  chief 
occupation  during  his  month's  stay  there.  It  would  be,  as  he  visualised 
it,  a  rallying-point  for  members  of  the  Society  from  all  parts,  who 
would  come  there  for  treatment.  At  the  same  time  he  initiated  the 
idea,  and  canvassed  for  the  foundation  of  a  hospital  for  the  sick  poor 
who  would  be  obliged  to  resort  there  for  the  same  purpose.  Each 
local  conference  would  bear  its  share  of  the  travelling  expenses  of  the 
sick  poor  to  Eaux-Bonnes,  while  the  well-to-do  patients  there  would, 
of  their  charity,  undertake  the  maintenance  of  the  sick  poor  while 
in  the  hospital. 

"  Here  I  am  then  at  Eaux-Bonnes,"  he  wrote  on  his  arrival  to  M. 
de  La  Villemarque,  "  wandering  between  two  mountains,  drinking 
deep  of  the  sulphur-springs.  To  be  quite  frank,  my  dear  friend,  I 


362  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

prefer  your  cider.  Then  I  climb  the  rocky  hills  after  the  goats  to 
digest  that  beverage  which  my  stomach  rejects.  I  bring  all  my  clan 
with  me.  When  we  shall  have  finished  camping  on  these  altitudes, 
we  shall  take  the  sea-baths  at  Biarritz.  Then  I  am  to  be  exiled  in 
the  South  for  the  winter." 

He  describes  elsewhere  the  grandiose  charm  of  that  slope  of  the 
Pyrenees :  "One  never  wearies  of  admiring  the  beauty  of  the  light 
gilding  the  rocks,  the  delicate  outline  of  the  mountain  ridge,  and, 
above  all,  the  streams  bejewelling  the  mountain  side,  purling  and  limpid. 
The  Alps  themselves  have  nothing  comparable  to  the  Cirque  of  Gavar- 
nie.  Imagine,  not  a  Cirque,  but  the  apse  of  a  cathedral,  eighteen 
hundred  feet  high,  crowned  with  snow,  furrowed  with  cascades,  the 
foam  of  which  arises  and  hangs  over  the  rocks  in  the  warmest  tints 
of  colour ;  the  walls  are  as  if  they  had  been  hewn  out  of  the  rock. 
When  clouds  are  floating  overhead  they  appear  to  be  the  drapery  of  a 
sanctuary  :  should  the  sun  shine,  nothing  could  make  that  edifice  more 
resplendent.  One  would  say  that  it  was  begun  by  angels  and  inter 
rupted  by  the  sin  of  man." 

In  the  course  of  this  "truant"  trip  through  the  Pyrenees,  the  pil 
grimage  to  the  shrine  of  Betharam  took  place,  and  there  Ozanam  prayed 
to  the  Virgin  of  the  Golden  Branch  :  "  That  Golden  Branch,"  says  the 
legend,  "  was  presented  by  a  young  girl  who  fell  into  one  of  the  moun 
tain  torrents.  She  made  a  vow  to  our  Lady,  and  found  immediately 
at  her  hand  a  branch  to  which  she  clung,  and  by  which  her  life  was 
saved.  I  am  clinging  with  all  the  might  of  my  soul  to  that  Branch 
which  we  call  the  Comforter  of  the  Afflicted  and  the  Refuge  of  Sinners." 

At  the  springs  Ozanam  met  what  was  better  than  beautiful  scenery, 
beautiful  souls.  I  do  not  know  if  he  could  possibly  have  found 
two  more  congenial  companions  than  the  two  young,  pious,  and  dis 
tinguished  priests,  the  Abbe  Perreyve,  one  of  his  own  students,  and 
the  Abbe  Mermillod,  future  Cardinal  Bishop  of  Hebron,  who  was  then 
Vicar  of  Notre  Dame  de  Geneva. 

The  Abbe  Perreyve  was  the  chosen  disciple  of  Lacordaire,  of  Pere 
Gratry,  and  of  Ozanam.  He  too  was  sick  unto  death,  he  too  made  the 
offering  of  his  life  to  the  Divine  Master.  Sad  and  sweet  visions  of 
the  future  gave  to  their  conversation  the  charming  characteristics  of  a 
joint  sacrifice  :  "  When  the  sky  was  clear,"  the  Abbe  Perreyve  relates, 
"  we  set  out  early  for  one  of  those  smiling  walks  surrounding  Eaux- 
Bonnes.  It  was  generally  a  crawl.  We  sought  there  the  evening's 


OZANAM  AND  PERREYVE  363 

calm.  We  left  for  home  when  the  sun  was  quitting  the  purple  tops 
of  the  Pic  de  Gers,  what  time  the  fresh  vapours  of  the  Laruns  were 
beginning  to  rise.  When  at  the  last  corner  of  the  road  we  saw  the 
roofs  of  the  houses  at  Eaux-Bonnes  it  was  already  night.  The  moun 
tain  crest  appeared  sombre  and  clear  cut  against  a  starry  sky :  the 
moon  rose  silently  above  the  fir-trees  over  the  hill-tops,  and  the  breeze, 
regular  as  the  breathing  of  a  sleeping  child,  swayed  the  woods  gently. 
At  such  an  hour,  in  such  beautiful  surroundings,  our  souls  ascended 
naturally  to  God.  We  spoke  little,  but  the  long  intervals  of  silence 
made  me  feel  that  it  was  rather  a  time  for  prayer  ;  a  prayer,  not  of 
words,  but  of  silent  contemplation  in  the  presence  of  God  !  Oh,  dear 
Lord,  Oh,  dear  Master  !  I  give  Thee  thanks  for  having  granted  me  such 
moments  I" 

When  his  leave  was  up  the  Abbe  Perreyve  was  called  back  to  Paris. 
Ozanam  accompanied  him  as  far  as  Bayonne  :  "  That  hour  in  the  car 
riage,"  writes  the  young  priest,  "  was  the  last  which  I  was  to  pass  with 
him  on  this  earth.  God  permitted  that  he  had  that  presentiment. 
He  spoke  during  that  hour  of  grave  matters  relating  to  himself,  to 
me,  to  the  Church  ;  of  hopes  and  fears  for  the  future.  He  spoke  to 
me  as  if  for  the  last  time  and  I  listened  conscientiously." 

"  When  we  reached  the  high  road  for  Spain  and  the  towers  of  the 
Bayonne  Cathedral  were  drawing  near,  he  changed  his  conversation. 
He  told  me  that  he  was  sick  unto  death,  and  that  we  should  not  see 
each  other  again.  I  shared  his  fears,  but  with  more  hope,  that  is 
to  say,  with  more  illusions,  I  argued  in  good  faith  against  his  sad 
forebodings.  But  he  persisted,  and  spoke  to  me  of  his  approaching 
death  with  a  certainty  which  overcame  all  my  reasons  for  hope.  When 
the  carriage  stopped  at  the  post-chaise  which  was  to  take  me  to 
Paris,  he  held  my  hand  for  a  long  time.  We  got  down  :  the  moment 
for  parting  had  come.  Embracing  me  closely,  he  said,  '  Henri,  say 
farewell/  My  heart  was  breaking,  but  no  tears  came.  I  followed 
him  with  my  eyes  as  long  as  that  was  possible  :  a  turn  in  the  road 
cut  off  the  view.  I  never  saw  him  again." 

The  Abbe  Mermillod  was  the  same  age  as  the  Abbe  Perreyve,  and  was 
then  in  the  flower  of  his  talent,  his  charm,  and  his  reputation.  He  had 
appeared  for  the  first  time  in  the  cathedral  pulpits  of  France  to  appeal 
for  funds  for  the  building  of  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception 
in  Geneva.  The  principal  promoter  of  that  undertaking  was,  with 
him,  Dr.  Dufresne,  of  Geneva,  President  of  the  local  Conference  of 


364  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and  son  in-law  of  M.  Foisset.  The 
young  Abbe  had  also  come  to  Eaux-Bonnes  for  the  benefit  of  his  health, 
which  had  been  impaired  by  his  activities  in  preaching  in  Paris  and 
elsewhere.  He  has  not  left  any  record  of  his  heart-to-heart  talks  with 
Ozanam.  But  one  of  Ozanam's  unpublished  letters,  written  to  that 
friend,  recalls  a  walk  in  his  company  to  the  Bridge  of  Spain,  as  leaving 
"  one  of  the  most  charming  impressions  which  he  brought  back  with 
him  from  the  Pyrenees."  His  whole  soul,  humiliated,  tried,  but 
patient,  submissive  and  generous,  is  in  the  following  letter :  "  Pray 
for  me,  Father  and  dear  friend,  for  illness  does  not  do  good  to  my 
soul :  it  makes  me  more  irritable,  selfish,  and  self-centred  than  ever. 
I  welcome  suffering,  if  it  is  to  sanctify  me  :  but  God  grant  that  it  may 
sanctify  me." 

This  religious  disposition  appears  in  a  still  more  Christian  light  in 
the  following  letter,  dated  the  I4th  September,  to  the  Abbe  Maret : 
"God  wishes  to  save  me,  and  grants  me  further  time  to  become  better. 
May  He  be  praised  and  blessed.  Whether  His  design  for  me  is  to 
give  me  back  my  health,  or  to  make  me  do  reparation  for  my  sins  by 
prolonged  suffering,  may  He  be  equally  praised  and  blessed  !  Let 
Him  only  give  me  courage  and  send  me  the  suffering  that  purifies. 
May  my  cross  be  that  of  the  penitent  thief.  Continue,  Reverend 
Father,  to  be  so  good  as  to  remember  me  in  your  prayers.  Give  me 
a  good  place  in  them,  just  as  the  best  place  at  the  fireside  is  given  to 
the  invalid  ;  he  may  not  deserve  it,  but  he  needs  it." 

Those  letters  are  written  from  Biarritz.  Much  to  my  regret,  I 
am  unable  to  reproduce  here  Ozanam's  description  of  those  coasts, 
and,  in  particular,  of  Biarritz,  "one  of  the  most  beautiful  places 
in  the  world."  He  enjoys  the  scene  not  without  remorse,  con 
demned  as  he  is  to  spend  many  months  in  idleness  at  a  time  when 
not  a  single  day  was  to  be  lost.  "  My  heart  does  indeed  find  occupa 
tion,  but  my  mind  none.  When  the  end  of  the  day  arrives  with 
nothing  done,  my  idleness  fills  me  with  remorse,  and  I  do  not  seem  to 
deserve  the  bread  which  I  am  eating,  nor  the  bed  in  which  I 
am  resting." 

Biarritz  did  him  good.  Ozanam  attributed  that  in  part  to  a  visit 
from  his  brother  Charles  who  tore  himself  away  from  his  patients 
for  three  weeks  to  look  after  him  :  "  He  came  to  me  as  a  rainbow  ap 
pears  after  a  downpour  of  rain,  a  symbol  of  hope."  He  also  expressed 
his  great  consolation  at  seeing  his  wife  and  child  happy  and  well  and 


RESIGNATION  OF  DUFIEUX  365 

also  "  at  being  able  to  devote  some  time  to  the  education  of  my  daugh 
ter,  Marie,  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  do  hitherto/'  But  what 
was  to  become  of  them  ?  He  gives  way  to  "  the  sad  thought  of  my 
ruined  career  and  of  my  family  exposed  to  all  the  difficulties  of  a  dark 
future.  My  imagination  is  filled  with  melancholy  at  that  picture. 
I  grow  very  sad  and  I  stand  in  greater  need  than  ever  of  your  kind 
prayers.  Faith  does  not  suffice  to  save  me  from  those  gloomy  fore 
bodings.  Not  indeed  that  religion  is  powerless  over  my  poor  heart, 
it  saves  me  from  despair.  But  I  cannot  control  myself  altogether,  I 
am  not  Christian  enough.  I  do  not  think,  however,  that  I  offend  God 
in  thus  unbosoming  myself  to  a  friend  who  is  stronger  than  I,  and 
who  can  lend  me  his  aid." 

It  was  to  Lallier  that  he  wrote,  and  he  continues  :  "  I  have  regained 
some  strength  here  by  the  seaside.  But  I  need  much  more,  before  I 
shall  be  cured.  Winter  is  coming  and  I  fear  that  my  restoration  to 
health  will  be  postponed  to  next  summer,  if  indeed  God  wills  that  I 
shall  ever  be  myself  again.  This  separation  leaves  me  desolate.  I 
cannot  grow  accustomed  to  the  thought  of  not  seeing  for  five  or  six 
months  more,  you  or  Cornudet,  or  excellent  Pessonneaux,  or  any  of 
the  others  whom  God  has  given  me  as  travelling  companions  on  this 
earth." 

M.  Dufieux  had  also  been  the  confidant  of  the  invalid's  uneasiness 
for  the  future  of  his  family.  His  reply  is  too  beautiful  not  to  find  a 
place  here  :  "  My  well-beloved  Frederick,  my  own  strength  is  ebbing 
away.  I  have  just  had  another  severe  illness,  and  I  have  scarce  suffi 
cient  strength  left  to  write  these  few  lines.  I  often  thought  of  you 
in  my.  recent  illness  ;  I  made  enquiries  about  you,  through  a  friend, 
from  the  doctor  at  Eaux-Bonnes,  who  has  good  hopes  of  you.  As 
to  the  interests  of  your  family,  leave  all  that  to  God  ;  He  will  take 
charge  of  it  ....  My  dear  friend,  what  should  not  I  have  to 
fear  on  that  score  if  I  did  not  know  that  Divine  Providence  is  at  hand  ? 
I  have  seven  children,  all  of  tender  years.  My  whole  fortune  consists 
of  twenty-three  thousand  francs,  made  by  grinding  work  which  has 
worn  out  the  remnant  of  my  youth,  my  health,  and  my  life.  I  have 
neither  relatives  nor  friends,  nor  inheritance,  nor  place,  nor  favour 
to  expect  from  any  quarter  whatever  ;  nothing  but  my  own  work 
to  'depend  on,  and  my  strength  not  enough  to  complete  it.  Yet,  my 
wife  and  I  sleep  easy  on  the  pillow  of  poverty.  I  know  that  God's 
hand  will  only  abandon  me  and  mine,  when  I  shall  first  myself  have 


366  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

loosed  the  grip.  Courage,  therefore,  my  good  friend,  health  will 
return  prosperity  will  come  with  it,  genius  and  glory  will  survive, 
that  will  be  the  inheritance  of  your  family.  Mine  ?  My  dear  Frederick 
I  can  tell  you  this  :  I  have  never  been  unhappy  except  when  I  wavered 
in  my  trust  in  God.  On  the  other  hand,  as  often  as  I  have  come  back 
to  Him  in  humility  and  submission,  like  a  little  dog  that  had  been 
punished  by  its  master,  I  have  felt  the  caressing  touch  of  that  all- 
merciful  and  all-powerful  Hand." 

Ozanam  found  a  flourishing  Conference  in  existence  at  Bayonne, 
filled  with  the  early  spirit  of  the  Society,  indefatigable  in  its  good  work. 
Its  president  was  Dr.  Franchisteguy,  who  became  a  friend  of  Ozanam 's 
later  years  and  to  whom  he  said  :  "  When  I  think  that  it  is  only  within 
the  last  seven  months  that  you  have  come  to  know  me,  and  that  you 
bestow  on  a  newly-found  acquaintance  such  hearty  friendship,  I  con 
clude  that  it  is  only  Christian  charity  which  can  work  such  wonders." 

Ozanam  was  glad  to  be  living  amidst  a  Christian  people  who  afforded 
him  the  joy  of  seeing  that  faith  is  not  extinguished  in  France.  A 
visit  which  he  paid  to  the  Community  of  the  Cistercian  Penitents 
was  an  edifying  sight :  "  but  recently  founded  in  the  Landes,  at  the 
edge  of  the  ocean,  about  five  miles  from  Bayonne  in  the  middle  of  an 
immense  desert  of  sands,  where  the  dunes  rise  and  fall  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea.  There  suddenly  appeared  in  that  desert  an  oasis 
such  as  the  Thebaide  in  Upper  Egypt,  two  rows  of  cabins  of  straw 
and  twigs,  and  between  them  a  chapel  with  its  thatched  roof.  Around 
were  all  forms  of  cultivation,  maize,  potatoes,  madder,  castor-oil  plant, 
etc.,  to  which  a  belt  of  poplars  afforded  protection  against  the  cold 
winds  from  the  sea,  and  against  the  drifting  sands.  It  is  at  once 
the  work  and  the  dwelling  of  heroic  penitents.*  The  story  of  their 
recent  foundation  is  still  more  supernatural  than  even  the  sight  itself. 
Young  Dr.  Ozanam  has  given  an  account  of  it.  "As  for  Frederick,'"' 
he  wrote,  "  his  heart,  sensitive  to  every  moral  impression,  was  so  moved 
at  the  sight  that  his  physical  health  derived  benefit  from  it." 

To  be  so  close  to  Spain  without  actually  entering  on  Spanish  terri 
tory  was  a  trial  and  a  temptation.  He  felt  better  one  day,  and  taking 
his  wife  and  his  brother  with  him,  made  his  way  as  far  as  Fontarabie, 

*Dr.  Ozanam,  Le  pays  des  Landes,  une  Thebaide  en  France,  8vo.  1857 — 
See  also  La  vie  de  I' Abbe  Cestac  founder,  by  Monsignor  Puyol.  I  had  the  privilege 
and  the  happiness  of  hearing  the  very  edifying  account  of  the  foundation  of 
that  work  and  of  the  edifying  lives  of  the  penitents  from  the  lips  of  the  holy 
Abbe  Cestac,  whom  I  met  at  Buglosse  in  1862. 


IN  SPAIN  367 

Iran,  St.  Sebastian,  so  that  he  could  return  triumphantly  after  having 
passed  a  day  on  Spanish  soil.  It  was  the  22nd  October,  with  a  tem 
perature  more  suitable  to  July.  M.  Eugene  Rendu  has  given  an  ac 
count  of  the  trip,  in  which  the  following  reference  is  made  to  the  piety 
of  the  people :  "The  good  Spanish  people  pray  very  piously.  I 
noticed  neither  coldness  nor  extravagance.  On  Sunday,  quite  a  num 
ber  received  Holy  Communion,  particularly  young  people  of  manly 
bearing,  wearing  the  beautiful  red  sash.  They  received,  with  all  the 
devotion  which  is  to  be  found  in  Notre  Dame  or  St.  Sulpice." 
Ozanam  found  in  that  experience  reasons  for  hope  in  the  assistance 
of  the  "God  of  ruin  and  of  resurrection." 

The  dash  into  Spain  tired  him  very  much,  but  did  not  cure  him  of 
the  growing  desire  for  a  full  excursion  into  that  country  of  glorious 
memories.  After  a  few  weeks  of  enforced  rest,  the  beautiful  dream 
of  our  ancestors  returned — A  Pilgrimage  to  St.  James  of  Compostella. 
"How  many  times,"  he  wrote  to  M.  Eugene  Rendu,  "while  sitting 
at  the  fireside  with  Madame  Ozanam,  and  replacing  a  half-burnt 
log,  have  I  not  set  out  for  the  Holy  Land  !  On  one  side  I  reached 
in  my  thoughts  the  Columns  of  Hercules,  and  on  the  other,  the  shores 
of  Palestine.  Yet,  here  I  am  in  Bayonne,  a  city  half  Spanish,  where 
many  of  the  signboards  of  the  shops  are  in  the  pure  tongue  of  Castile, 
and  I  fear  to  push  on  to  Seville." 

He  received  permission  from  his  doctor  to  make  an  attempt  to 
reach  Burgos.  He  set  forth  with  his  wife  and  child  on  the  i6th  Novem 
ber,  at  the  beginning  of  the  season,  described  in  the  following  words 
of  the  Spanish  proverb :  "Six  months  winter,  six  months  hell."  It 
rained  incessantly  during  the  thirty-three  hours'  ascent  to  the  high 
plateau  on  which  stands  the  Mother  of  Kings,  2,100  feet 
above  sea  level.  Ozanam  found  consolation  for  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather  and  the  loneliness  of  the  route  in  the  following  thought : 
"  How  many  poor  French  and  Italian  pilgrims  walked  in  tears,  begging 
from  St.  James  the  remission  of  their  sins,  the  cure  of  an  invalid, 
the  delivery  of  a  captive  !  Through  what  perils  did  they  not  advance 
when  Saracen  bands  scoured  the  country  and  floods  swept  away  bridges 
and  paths  !" 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  i8th  November,  the 
towers  of  Notre  Dame  de  Burgos  caught  the  eye.  One  hour  later 
he  was  on  his  knees  giving  thanks  in  the  magnificent  cathedral  already 
in  gloom.  He  passed  almost  all  the  next  day  in  the  very  heart  of  the 


368  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Spanish  Middle  Ages,  alternately  recalling,  honouring,  and  praying 
the  Queen  of  the  place  in  the  following  ardent  terms  :  "Oh  !  Holy 
Virgin,  my  mother,  what  power  you  have  !  What  admirable  mansions 
your  Divine  Son  has  had  erected  in  your  honour,  in  exchange  for 
the  poor  little  hut  of  Nazareth  !  I  myself  know  many,  from  Our  Lady 
of  Cologne  to  St.  Mary  Major,  and  from  St.  Mary  of  Florence  to  Our 
Lady  of  Chartres.  .  .  .  Here  the  Castilians,  laying  aside  the 
proud  sword  for  the  trowel  and  chisel,  have  worked  continuously  in 
your  service  for  three  hundred  years,  in  order  that  you  should  have  a 
worthy  dwelling  place  in  their  midst  !  Good  Virgin,  through  whose 
intercession  such  miracles  have  been  wrought,  obtain  something  also 
for  me  and  for  mine.  Strengthen  the  habitation  of  our  tottering  bodies. 
Build  up  to  Heaven  the  spiritual  edifices  of  our  souls." 

We  shall  not  further  describe  the  visit,  because  it  has  all  been  told 
by  Ozanam  himself,  and  published  after  his  death,  in  the  masterpiece 
entitled  :  Un  Pelerinage  au  pays  du  Cid,  which  constantly  occupied 
and  consoled  the  closing  days  of  his  life.  He  seemed  to  have  a  new 
life  again  at  Burgos  :  "  Notwithstanding  the  inclement  weather,"  he 
stated  to  his  friends,  "  I  had  never  felt  better,  and  the  only  fault  to 
be  found  with  the  three  days  at  Burgos  was  that  they  were  too  short : 
three  days  only,  spent  with  the  Campeador,  with  Ferdinard  Gonzalez, 
the  great  Count  of  Castile,  with  the  great  Isabella  !  I  had  at  Burgos 
the  whole  epic  of  sacred  and  heroic  Spain.  I  saw  three  hundred 
years  of  history  in  a  stay  of  three  days.  I  brought  from  there  noble 
thoughts,  beautiful  descriptions  in  embryo,  pieces  of  poetry,  notices 
of  monuments,  ballads  and  legends.  Amelie  found  old  song-romances, 
she  bought  mantillas,  she  won  grace  from  Heaven  for  herself  and  for 
me.  I  have  only  to  thank  God  for  giving  me  the  strength  to  make 
such  an  entertaining  and  useful  trip  ;  and  to  thank  my  dear  wife, 
who  had  all  the  trouble  and  anxiety." 

In  that  hurried  trip  to  Burgos,  Ozanam  did  not  forget  to  visit  the 
Conference  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  Proud  Catholic 
Spain,  rich  in  ancient  works  of  Catholic  Charity,  had  been  slow  to 
admit  one  which  was  modern  and  foreign.  St.  Joseph's  in  Madrid 
and  St.  Joseph's  in  Burgos  had  been  the  only  Conferences  so  far  aggre 
gated  to  the  Society.  The  end  of  that  same  year,  1852,  witnessed  the 
aggregation  of  many  others,  Callela,  Holy  Cross  of  Madrid,  Santander, 
Huesca,  etc.  Ten  years  later,  out  of  two  thousand  Conferences 
outside  France,  Spain  numbered  five  hundred. 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL         369 

Ozanam  was  back  in  Bayonne  on  the  24th  November.  He  had 
thought  of  first  returning  to  Paris  in  order  to  further  his  membership 
of  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions :  "  But  what  would  be  the  use  ?  That 
Academy  will  be  able  to  get  on  for  a  while  yet  without  me.  I  could 
console  myself  easily  for  the  loss,  did  I  not  fear  that  my  light  was  about 
to  be  extinguished/'  In  a  few  lines  later  :  "  I  know  candidates  who 
were  brought  into  the  Academy,  merely  for  what  was  expected  from 
them.  Cannot  as  much  be  expected  of  me  ?  Besides,  may  I  not 
leave  a  vacancy  soon  ?" 

Winter  was  coming  on  ;  where  would  he  pass  it  ?     The  choice  lay 
between    Bayonne,    Spain    and    Italy.     Italy   won.     "Our    beautiful 
Italy/'     Hippolyte  Fortoul,  his  former  college  chum  in  Lyons,  had 
become  Minister  of  Education  under  the  Second  Empire,  and  had  re 
mained  a  loyal  friend.     To  break  the  ennui  of  complete  rest,  he  entrust 
ed  Ozanam  with  a  little  work  to  do  in  Pisa  on  the  Origines  des  Re- 
publiques  italiennes,  for  which  he  was  to  receive  out-of-pocket  expenses. 
Ozanam  would  not  leave  Bayonne  and  the  Pyrenees  without  paying 
a  visit  to  the  birthplace  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul :  "  I  do  indeed  owe 
that  to  the  beloved  patron  who  saved  me   in  youth  from   so  many 
dangers,  and  who  has  showered  such  unexpected  blessings  on  our  little 
conferences.     His   native   village   is   situated    about   20   miles   from 
Bayonne,  a  short  day's  journey.     We  came  first  to  the  village  of 
Pouy,  which  is  now  named  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  after  its  glorious 
son.     We  saw  the  old  oak  under  which  St.  Vincent,  the  boy  shepherd, 
took  shelter  while  herding  his  flock.     That  fine  old  tree  is  now  held 
to  the  soil  only  by  the  bark,  which  is  eaten  into  with  age.     But  the 
branches  are  superb  and,  even  at  the  advanced  season  when  we  were 
there,  the  foliage  was  beautifully  green.     I  saw  in  it  the  type  of  the 
foundations  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  which  have  no  apparent  bond  of 
union  with  earth,  but  which  nevertheless  triumph  over  time  and  grow 
strong  during  revolution." 

A  later  letter  stated  :  "The  Cure  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  had  a  branch 
of  the  venerable  oak  cut  for  us,  which  I  am  sending  on  to  the  Council 
General.  Amelie  made  a  collection  of  leaves,  twigs,  and  acorns, 
which  she  intends  to  share  with  you.  Marie  was  delighted  to  see  in 
the  fields  sheep,  that  must  of  course  be  the  great-grand-children  of 
those  which  the  saint  used  to  herd/' 

"  We  resumed  our  journey  from  Pouy  for  Notre  Dame  de  Buglosse, 
two  miles  further  on,  through  a  frightful  country,  uncultivated  and 


370  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

intersected  with  marshes.  The  old  sanctuary  is  made  venerable  by  a 
statue  of  the  Virgin  Mary  which  attracts  many  pilgrims.  We  finished 
our  pilgrimage  there  on  Saturday  morning,  and  had  the  consolation 
of  receiving  Holy  Communion,  asking  God  for  the  cure  in  which  we  all 
three  are  concerned.  It  is  a  very  long  while  since  I  was  so  moved." 

What  affected  him  most,  however,  was  an  incident  which  he  related 
in  a  letter  to  Lallier :  "  I  believed  myself  cured  at  that  time,  and 
it  was  rather  for  the  purpose  of  thanks  than  for  petition,  that  I 
made  that  pilgrimage.  However,  without  wishing  to  attach  any 
supernatural  importance  to  anything  that  concerns  me,  I  admit  that 
one  incident  made  a  very  deep  impression  on  me.  I  went  to  Confession 
to  a  holy  priest  who  does  duty  at  the  chapel  of  Notre  Dame,  and 
whose  simplicity  and  great  charity  recalled  at  once  our  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul.  Now,  that  man  of  God,  in  the  remarks  which  he  made, 
spoke  only  of  sufferings  to  be  endured  patiently,  of  resignation  and 
submission  to  the  will  of  God,  however  hard  it  might  be  !  ...  Such 
language  surprised  me  very  much,  as  I  was  feeling  well."  That  took 
place  in  the  confessional  of  the  little  chapel ;  and  the  priest  knew 
nothing  of  his  penitent,  whom  he  had  never  seen.*  "At  all  events  I 
felt  somewhat  unwell  on  my  return  from  Buglosse  ;  and  the  feeling 
of  illness  was  aggravated  by  the  farewell  visits  which  I  had  to  make 
at  Bayonne.  I  fell  back  into  my  former  state  of  intense  weakness." 
The  time  for  departure  had  come. 

Ozanam  set  out  early  in  December  by  the  mail-coach  which  con 
veyed  him  rapidly  to  Toulouse,  where  St.  Thomas  Acquinas  and  the 
Conferences  of  the  Society  detained  him  two  days  :  "Our  good  little 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  is  not  idle  anywhere,"  he  wrote.  It 
was  the  same  story  at  Montpellier.  "Thus  the  work  of  God  is  being 
done  amid  human  vicissitudes."  Madame  Soulacroix  joined  them 
at  Marseilles  for  the  rest  of  the  journey  which  was  to  finish  in  Rome, 
where  her  son  was  :  "  My  wife's  isolation  was  ended,  and  hearts  were 
brought  together  that  were  desolate  asunder." 

Marseilles  offered  him  "  the  delights  of  Capua"  in  the  hospitality 
of  M.  and  Madame  Magagnos,  who  were  near  relatives  of  the  Soulacroix. 
There  was  a  great  family  gathering  at  Christmas.  He  had  also  been 

*I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  holy  priest  was  none  other  than  the  Abbe 
Cestac,  who  was  at  that  time  undertaking  the  construction  of  the  new  sanctuary 
of  which  Ozanam  speaks.  I  met  him  there  after  its  completion  in  1862,  and 
spent  the  best  part  of  a  day  with  him,  to  my  great  edification.  Supernatural 
powers  in  the  direction  of  souls  were  attributed  to  him. 


FROM  TOULON  TO  NICE  371 

nourished  that  morning  at  the  Divine  Table :  "  We  spent  the  Feast- 
day  together,"  he  wrote.  "  I  remembered  you  in  my  prayers  at  the 
altar,  and  ask  you  to  do  the  same  for  me  ;  you  will  find  that,  with  the 
help  of  your  prayers,  we  shall  have  a  good  journey.  We  are  starting 
to-morrow  for  Toulouse  which  we  should  reach  in  five  hours.  We 
shall  place  ourselves  under  the  protection  of  Notre  Dame  de  la  Garde, 
whom  we  visited  a  short  time  back." 

What  was  most  noticeable  about  Ozanam  at  that  time  was  his 
gaiety  :  he  was  the  first  to  enjoy  everything.  "God  has  indeed  heard 
my  request :  Redde  mihi  laetitiam  salutaris  tui." 

He  was  enthusiastic  about  the  naval  greatness  of  Toulon.  "  The 
Mediterranean  squadron  was  there  to  receive  us.  We  paid  a  visit 
to  the  giant  of  the  fleet,  le  Valmy,  carrying  300  guns  and  1,100  men. 
I  have  seen  nothing  more  imposing  than  that  floating  giant,  with 
its  obedient  thunderbolts  and  its  disciplined  courage."  Toulon,  on 
the  other  hand,  tired  him.  He  spoke  of  swollen  feet,  frequent  spasms 
of  pain,  and  dilation  about  the  heart,  which  he  had  had  before  and 
which  had  to  be  treated  with  digitalis  :  "  I  hope  that  this  little  check 
will  not  last,  and  that  God  may  have  sent  it  to  me  as  a  New  Year 
gift,  so  that  I  may  say  :  Volo  quomodo  vis,  volo  quandiu  vis  !" 

The  pleasure  of  seeing,  contemplating,  admiring,  feeling,  blessing 
everything  from  Toulon  to  Nice  was  balm  to  his  spirit :  "A  special 
carriage  took  us  to  Cannes  for  the  night,  the  following  day  to  Nice, 
passing,  on  the  way,  Frejus,  the  Esterel  mountains,  Antibes,  a  delight 
ful  route  fringed  with  olive  trees  and  orange  trees,  all  laden  with  their 
golden  fruit,  and  palm-trees  waving  over  a  Roman  ruin  in  the  distance, 
at  a  chapel  gate,  or  by  the  side  of  some  modern  villa. 

"All  that  is  magnificent,  but  it  is  as  nothing  to  what  is  seen  when, 
near  Antibes,  the  ridge  of  the  maritime  Alps  suddenly  bursts  on  the 
sight  and  shuts  out  the  horizon,  their  peaks  covered  with  eternal  snow, 
their  bases  bathed  in  the  shimmering  sea.  Then,  and  then  only,  are 
the  Pyrenees  and  the  Coast  of  Biscay  forgotten.  All  creation  is 
represented  in  that  scene,  the  majesty  of  the  glaciers  and  the  luxur 
iance  of  the  tropics  ;  forests  of  olive  trees,  and  oleanders  flourishing 
in  the  dried-up  beds  of  streams,  aloes  and  cactuses  as  in  Sicily  ;  belts 
of  lofty  palm  trees  waving  a  foliage  worthy  to  find  a  place  in  the 
welcome  to  the  King  of  Kings  on  Palm  Sunday." 

That  domestic  trip  had  pleasant  interruptions  at  intervals  along 
the  route.  Ozanam  wrote  :  "Of  all  the  products  of  Provence  the  best 


372  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

are  cousins,  both  male  and  female.  Amelie  found  all  hers  in  Marseilles." 
In  Toulon  another  band  of  Magagnos  !  "At  Cannes  we  found  M.  Coste, 
an  old  cousin,  almost  blind,  a  dear  relative  of  our  fond  mother,  with 
whom  we  celebrated  the  arrival  of  the  New  Year.  Indeed,  my  dear 
friends,  I  part  company  with  the  year  of  grace  1852,  which  had  separ 
ated  us,  without  regrets,  and  I  welcome  1853,  which  will  bring  us 
together  again." 

After  remembering  his  mother,  then  comes  the  thought  of  his  father  : 
"  We  are  to  set  out  to-morrow  morning  at  four  o'clock  from  Nice  for 
Genoa  by  the  splendid  Corniche  route.  Ah  !  How  all  that  road 
recalls  the  memory  of  my  father  !  How  often  he  spoke  of  it  !  It 
was  the  scene  of  his  early  campaigns,  during  which  he  had  often  fired 
on  the  Piedmontese  mountaineers.  I  often  think  of  him  and  of  you 
with  him." 

The  crossing  on  the  "Marie-Antoinette"  from  Genoa  to  Leghorn 
was  very  rough.  A  downpoar  of  rain  on  their  arrival  drenched  the 
travellers  through  and  through.  Ozanam  arrived  on  the  loth  January 
at  Pisa,  suffering  from  rheumatic  pains  and  weakness,  but  still  sound. 
Full  of  hope,  he  saluted  Italy. 

He  went  immediately  to  the  Cathedral.  "After  a  month's  journey, 
fatigue,  and  but  little  rest  in  France,  '  he  wrote,  "  I  cannot  describe 
your  friend  as  a  Hercules  ;  he  has  had  his  share  of  sufferings.  But 
now  that  I  am  in  port,  I  have  hope  and  I  thank  God.  That  is  what 
we  did  in  the  admirable  Cathedral  of  Pisa,  which  radiates  faith,  beauty, 
and  love." 


373 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
IN  ITALY.— WINTER  AT  PISA. 

THE     CONFERENCE     IN     FLORENCE.— AUTHORISATION  .—NOTRE    DAME     DE 
PISA. — HISTORICAL    WORKS. — THE   ASCENT    OF  LIFE. — THE  SACRIFICE. 

1853. 

Ozanam  visited,  first,  Pisa's  Notre  Dame,  and  then  turned  his 
thoughts  to  distant  France  :  "  Join  with  us  in  thanking  God,"  he 
wrote  to  Cornudet,  "  for  having  guided  and  guarded  us  ;  ask  Him  to 
continue  to  do  so,  and  to  lead  us  back  safe  ;  this  enchanting  land  has 
not  made  us  forget  our  own  country."  Another  letter  said  :  "I  have 
great  hopes  that  I  may  be  restored  to  health  in  the  spring.  But 
whatever  be  the  will  of  God,  I  must  receive  it  with  love,  for  He  has 
mixed  much  sweetness  with  the  bitterness  of  the  chalice." 

It  was  on  the  I3th  January  that  Ozanam  wrote  the  above  lines. 
He  took  advantage  of  the  lull  to  go  to  Florence  which  is  about  fifty 
miles  from  Pisa.  The  interests  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
drew  him  thither.  In  1847,  as  he  himself  says,  he  had,  when  crossing 
Tuscany,  sown  the  seed  of  a  Conference,  which  had  been  very  slow  to 
germinate.  In  other  parts  of  the  country  new  ideas  and  new  social 
needs  had  justified  the  Society,  and  Conferences  had  sprung  up.  "The 
ecclesiastical  authority  accorded  it  protection,  religious  recommended 
it,  fervent  laymen  joined  it." 

But  in  Florence,  as  well  as  in  Pisa  and  in  Leghorn,  the  Society  had 
not  succeeded  in  getting  the  authorisation  of  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Tuscany,  who  regarded  it  as  tainted  with  liberalism.  The  coldness, 
which  he  showed  the  growing  group,  froze  the  society  in  the  bud. 
Ozanam's  arrival  at  Pisa  awakened  new  hope.  His  work  Dante  et 
sa  philosophic,  which  had  been  translated  several  times  into  Italian, 
had  made  the  author  more  popular  n  Italy,  the  land  of  Dante,  than 
any  other  French  writer.  The  Grand-Duchess  could  not  ignore  him. 


374  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

One  of  her  ladies-in-waiting  was  the  mother  of  the  young  Canon  Guido 
Palagi,  the  holy  priest  who  had  thrown  all  his  energy  into  the  service 
and  propagation  of  that  charitable  society. 

Ozanam  had  been  only  a  few  days  there  when  he  was  informed 
that  the  Dowager  Grand  Duchess,  who  was  passing  through  Pisa, 
wished  to  receive  him  that  evening.  "  He  was  feverish  that 
day,"  M.  Cornudet  relates,  "  his  breathing  was  laboured,  and  his  body 
was  swollen."  His  friends  vainly  opposed  his  accepting  that  invita 
tion  :  "  I  feel  pretty  bad,"  he  admitted,  "  but  it  is  probably  the  last 
service  which  I  shall  be  able  to  render  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul.  It  has  done  me  far  too  much  good,  that  I  should  not  try  to 
do  the  last  thing  that  I  can  for  it,  if  God  gives  me  the  strength  to 
accomplish  it."  The  Grand  Duchess,  a  woman  of  good  faith  and 
generous  heart,  received  him  with  kindness  and  with  marked  distinc 
tion.  But  she  did  not  conceal  the  very  decided  prejudices  of  the 
Duke  against  the  Society  generally,  and  against  the  Society  in  Florence 
in  particular.  He  regarded  it  as  a  species  of  political  secret  society, 
which  he  could  only  authorise  if  certain  members,  whom  she  named, 
ceased  to  belong  to  it.  Ozanam  explained  politely  the  origin  and  spirit 
of  the  Society,  the  express  exclusion  of  politics  by  its  Rule,  the  necessity 
of  welcoming  without  exception  everyone  who  desired  membership, 
on  the  condition  that  he  was  an  honourable  man  and  a  practising 
Catholic.  He  spoke  warmly,  animated  rather  than  depressed  by 
his  feverish  condition.  The  Grand  Duchess  heard  him  with  attention 
and  emotion.  She  thanked  him,  but  made  no  reply.  Some  days 
later  the  Society  in  Florence,  in  Pisa,  and  in  Leghorn  received  official 
authorisation. 

A  General  Meeting  of  the  Conference  was  called  for  the  30 th  January 
to  celebrate  and  inaugurate  the  new  order  of  things.  Ozanam  gave 
an  accurate  but  modest  account  in  a  letter  to  Lallier,  making  no 
mention  of  his  visit  to  Her  Highness,  nor  of  the  results  of  that  visit  : 
"  In  this  capital  of  Josephism,"  *  he  wrote,  "  a  young  Canon,  whose 

*  Though  traces  of  the  tendency  were  evident  for  some  centuries  previously, 
Josephism  is  identified  with  the  name  and  reign  of  Joseph  II  of  Austria  (1741- 
90) .  It  was  the  development  of  the  craving  of  secular  princes  after  a  territorial 
Church,  and  in  its  operations  was  not  unconnected  with  Jansenism  and  Gallic- 
anism.  Joseph  II  erected  the  following  maxim  of  Kaunitz  into  a  principle  of 
government  :  "  The  supremacy  of  the  State  over  the  Church  extends  to  all 
ecclesiastical  laws  and  practices  devised  and  established  solely  by  man,  and 
whatever  else  the  Church  owes  to  the  consent  and  sanction  of  the  secular 
power."  Adopting  that  maxim,  Joseph  II,  "our  brother  sacristan,"  as  he  was 


THE  SOCIETY  IN  FLORENCE  375 

mother  is  a  lady-in-waiting  to  the  Grand  Duchess,  devotes  all  his 
energy  to  developing  our  Society.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  present 
at  one  of  their  meetings,  just  as  I  had  on  other  occasions  met  our 
Brothers  in  London  and  Burgos.  Tears  of  joy  well  to  my  eyes  when 
I  find  our  little  Society  at  such  far-flung  points,  our  Society,  little 
indeed  in  the  obscurity  of  its  work,  but  mighty  in  the  blessing  of  God. 
The  languages  may  be  different,  but  it  is  always  the  same  hand-grip, 
the  same  fraternal  welcome.  We  can  recognise  ourselves  by  the  sign 
of  the  early  Christians,  'See  how  they  love  one  another'." 

He  spoke  to  them  in  Italian.  His  address  is  to  be  found  in  his 
printed  works.  He  first  expressed  his  pleasure  at  finding  himself 
at  home  with  them  in  Tuscany,  as  he  had  already  found  himself  at 
home  in  England  and  in  Castile.  But  he  was  at  pains  to  make  it 
clear  that,  if  he  is  Vice-President  of  the  Council-General,  it  is  not 
because  of  his  own  merits.  His  only  claim  is  his  length  of  time  in 
the  Society.  He  described  its  humble  beginning  and  was  impressed 
by  its  marvellous  expansion.  "  Instead  of  eight  members,  it  num 
bers  2,000  in  Paris  alone,  who  visit  about  20,000  people.  It  possesses 
500  Conferences  in  France  alone,  besides  those  in  England,  Spain, 
America,  and  even  in  Jerusalem."  He  emphasized  the  aim  of  the 
Society  :  a  work  of  spiritual  rather  than  of  corporal  charity,  particularly 
appropriate  to  the  needs  of  the  present  time,  and  to  the  actual  political 
condition  of  Italy.  Then  he  referred  to  the  spirit  of  the  Society  :  a 
spirit  of  humility,  charity  and  peace.  Such  is  indeed  also  the  spirit 
of  that  address  which  was  of  evangelical  simplicity.  He  closed  thus  : 
"  I  shall  soon  return  to  Pisa  where  I  have,  as  here,  Brothers  in  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul.  I  hope  to  see  you  again  in  a  few  months  before  I 
return  to  my  own  country,  and  to  be  again  edified  by  that  Christian 
fraternity  which  prepared  such  a  kind  welcome  for  me  here.  I  shall 
carry  away  in  my  heart  an  imperishable  memory  and  I  shall  not  fail 
to  tell  our  Brothers  in  Paris  that  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
has,  under  the  beautiful  Italian  sky,  branches  worthy  to  be  ranked 
among  its  most  flourishing  members." 

The  story  of  that  meeting  and  address  had  its  sequel.  Great 
was  the  amazement  of  the  speaker  on  finding  his  address  reproduced, 

called  by  Frederick  the  Great,  treated  ecclesiastical  institutions  as  public  depart 
ments  of  the  State.  The  State  was  made  the  administrator  of  the  temporal 
property  of  the  Church  :  all  religious  funds  and  endowments  were  merged  into 
one  large  fund,  the  Religions  fond.  The  fund  failed  to  bear  the  charges  that 
naturally  fell  upon  it  and  the  scheme  collapsed. 


376  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

word  for  word,  in  the  Catholic  press  of  the  city.  He  was  very  upset 
by  it :"  It  is  altogether  opposed  to  the  practice  as  well  as  to  the  spirit 
of  the  Society  which  does  good  silently."  Ozanam  stated  that  if 
he  had  anticipated  publicity,  he  would  not  have  spoken.  Having 
been  asked  a  little  later  to  speak  again,  he  consented  only  on  the 
express  condition  that  such  an  indiscretion  would  not  be  repeated. 
The  following  day,  however,  some  influential  members  appealed  to 
him  to  release  them  from  their  promise.  He  held  out  three  days  and 
yielded  only  on  the  command  of  his  confessor,  who  assured  him  that 
his  address  would  probably  lead  to  a  new  foundation  at  Loretto. 
He  gave  permission  for  one  hundred  copies  to  be  made.  They  made 
twelve  hundred  :  a  second  piece  of  deception,  which  the  speaker  could 
only  bring  himself  to  forgive  when  he  saw  the  fruits  in  the 
foundation  of  Conferences  at  Macerata,  Porto  Ferrajo  and  even  in 
Sardinia,  where  the  address  of  the  "  celebrated  French  Professor  " 
produced  a  great  effect. 

It  did  not  need  that  extra  exertion  to  break  down  the  already 
shattered  strength  of  the  Professor.  I  read  in  his  correspondence 
some  days  later  the  following  lines  to  M.  Foisset :  "  My  health  is  almost 
altogether  gone  ;  that  is  why  I  pray,  and  ask  my  friends  to  pray, 
that  it  may  please  Heaven  to  deliver  me.  So  many  prayers  cannot 
remain  unheard  ;  but  it  seems  also  that  my  sins  cannot  remain  un 
punished.  Since  I  left  France,  the  fatigue  of  travelling  has  broken 
my  strength,  and  I  am  here  suffering,  tottering,  but  without  falling, 
almost  like  the  leaning  tower  before  which  I  pass  daily.  That  example 
should  reassure  and  instruct  me  ;  for  leaning  as  it  is,  it  has  not 
ceased  during  some  seven  hundred  years  to  serve  God  in  its  own  way, 
by  celebrating  Him  with  the  chime  of  its  bells." 

He  wrote  as  above  on  the  4th  February.  On  the  28th  he  blamed 
the  eternal  rain,  which  is  suffered  under  the  beautiful  Tuscan  sky, 
for  the  delay  in  his  recovery.  On  the  4th  March  it  is  still  the  same  story, 
inclemency  of  weather  and  confinement  to  the  house.  But  in  return, 
he  has  the  consolation  of  visits  to  the  Art  Gallery  and  to  the  Cathedral, 
where  he  finds  rest  and  happiness.  That  is  the  subject  matter  of 
those  letters  to  the  Abbe  Maret,  in  which  the  scenes,  persons,  and 
events  are  made  to  live  again. 

"  You  will  have  learned,  my  dear  Reverend  Father,  of  my  Odyssey, 
my  journeys  by  land  and  sea,  and  how  I  have  taken  up  my  winter- 
quarters  in  Pisa  for  the  last  six  weeks.  Then,  doubtless,  you  have 


LIFE  IN  PISA  377 

pictured  your  traveller  leading  a  life  of  delights  under  a  cloudless  sky, 
idly  floating  on  the  waters  of  the  Arno,  carried  off  to  the  beautiful 
mountains  of  San  Giulano  ;  or  else  in  dreamland  on  the  marvellous 
square  of  Pisa  under  the  pale  moonlight,  wandering  in  the  Campo 
Santo,  calling  forth  the  shades  of  the  former  inhabitants  of  Pisa  in 
the  open  porticoes  painted  by  Giotto  and  Benozzo  Gozzoli.  Oh  ! 
How  far  removed  all  that  is  from  the  reality  !  Of  all  the  sacred 
subjects  which  Benozzo  treated,  I  see  but  one  here  and  it  is  ever  the 
same  :  the  Deluge.  For  close  on  forty  days  we  have  been  living 
enveloped  in  rain  which  occasionally  turned  to  snow  hurled  along 
by  howling  winds.  Happily,  in  default  of  the  open  porticoes  of  the 
Campo  Santo,  I  can  take  refuge  in  the  Cathedral  and  pray  under 
the  noble  arches  erected  in  1063  by  Crusaders  who  preceded  Godfrey 
de  Bouillon.  They  erected  this  incomparable  Church  with  booty 
captured  from  the  infidels." 

Again  :  "On  good  days  we  take  a  closed  carriage  and  drive  to  the 
Cathedral.  There  all  memory  of  the  deluge  is  gone  and  we  are  truly 
in  Paradise  for  an  hour.  Ah  !  Those  old  masters  well  understood 
that  the  Church  is  to  be  a  celestial  Jerusalem.  They  constructed  this 
one  with  such  incomparable  elegance,  that  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether 
it  is  built  from  the  earth  up,  or  simply  rests  there,  having  been  deposited 
from  heaven.  The  twenty-four  columns,  carrying  the  five  naves, 
are  tall  and  slender  like  the  palm-trees  in  the  eternal  gardens.  Angels, 
who  are  believed  to  be  the  work  of  Guirlandajo,  but  who  surely  are 
alive,  ascend  and  descend  the  great  arch  which  opens  the  sanct 
uary,  and  at  the  end  of  the  apse  is  the  Christ  sitting  and  crushing 
the  lion  and  dragon  under  the  feet  of  His  throne.  It  is  in 
presence  of  this  new  transfiguration  that  one  cries  out  from  the  depths 
of  the  heart,  "  Lord,  it  is  good  to  be  here,  let  us  build  three  taber 
nacles." 

If,  as  we  leave  the  basilica,  the  rain  should  cease  for  an  instant  and 
allow  a  tour  of  the  place  to  be  made,  behold  the  fa9ade  with  its  Byzan 
tine  cupola,  and  at  the  rere,  the  boundary  walls  of  the  city  which 
have  witnessed  such  assaults  !  Then  one  returns,  the  soul  charged 
with  poetry,  to  support  without  murmur  long  days  of  captivity, 
even  as  the  saints  bore  with  greater  patience  the  troubles  of  life  after 
their  ecstasies  and  visions. 

Those  winter  days,  during  which  Ozanam  kept  a  diary,  were 
indeed  a  time  of  captivity.  He  rose  at  nine  o'clock,  as  an  invalid, 


37^  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

in  obedience  to  the  guardian  angel  who  was  very  amiable,  but  who 
was  very  exact  in  seeing  that  the  order  was  obeyed  :  breakfast,  close 
to  the  fire  :  about  eleven,  if  the  north  wind  blew  less  violently,  Mass 
at  a  Church  near  by  :  then  the  library,  which  was  only  a  step  away, 
and  where  he  could  forget  himself  without  the  salutary  fear  of  the 
same  guardian  angel.  Back  to  the  flat  to  write  a  letter  and  give  a 
lesson  to  Marie.  Dinner  afterwards,  still  closer  to  the  fire,  because 
it  grew  colder  as  night  advanced.  A  little  reading  ended  the  day, 
during  which  there  was  plenty  of  time  to  miss  the  companionship 
of  the  friends  who  cheered  the  fireside  of  the  Rue  Fleurus.  "Please 
tell  me  if  I  have  not  described  a  winter  in  Berlin  or  in  Munich  ?" 

Those,  who  have  not  seen  Ozanam  in  prayer,  will  find  his  picture 
in  those  letters.  Passing  the  bronze  doors  of  the  Cathedral  and  coming 
to  the  end  of  the  forest  of  columns  which  divide  the  five  naves,  he 
is  there  face  to  face  with  the  colossal  figure  of  Christ  in  mosaic.  He 
contemplates  Him  sitting  between  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  St.  John. 
He  calls  forth  all  the  historic  memories  of  the  place  and  lays  them  at 
the  feet  of  the  King  of  Ages  :  the  words  of  the  most  beautiful  psalms 
spring  naturally  to  his  lips  to  express  his  fervour.  "  Face  to  face  with, 
and  overwhelmed  by  the  divine  majesty,  I  felt  happy  that  our  Lord 
had  inspired  a  people  to  build  a  temple  which  was  almost  worthy  of 
Him.  Fear  of  God,  the  fee1  ing  of  the  nothingness  of  man,  the  legiti 
mate  pride  of  a  Christian,  all  those  emotions  are  awakened  at  once, 
and  the  words  of  the  psalm  are  understood  :  '  How  beloved  are  Thy 
tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  Virtues.'  " 

Ozanam  expressed  his  happiness  at  meeting  in  that,  and  in  other 
churches,  poor  people  who  edified  him  :  "  The  masses  of  the  people, 
at  least  here  and  in  Florence,  fill  the  churches.  Unlike  France,  the 
altars  here  are  attended,  even  on  week-days,  not  by  well-to-do  people, 
but  by  artisans,  coachmen,  peasants,  and  market-women,  with  whom 
you  must  rub  shoulders,  if  you  wish  to  sit  on  the  benches,  which  take 
the  place  of  our  chairs.  I  attend  eleven  o'clock  Mass  nearly  every 
day  ;  Saint-Simon  would  call  it  '  the  mob  Mass.'  Holy  Communions 
are  more  numerous  than  I  expected." 

He  returns  to  that  subject  again  :  "  The  people  here  have  deteriorat 
ed,  but  they  have  at  least  preserved  the  faith,  and  they  do  not  leave 
the  cathedrals  of  their  ancestors  empty.  I  say  the  people,  that  is 
to  say,  especially  those  who,  in  France,  do  not  frequent  the  church, 
but  who  haunt  the  inns  and  public-houses.  You  would  not  believe 


WORK  IN  PISA  379 

in  what  good  company  I  often  find  myself  at  eleven  o'clock  Mass, 
petty  artisans,  coachmen,  apple-women,  beggars,  every  class,  my 
dear  friend,  that  revolts  our  delicacy,  but  yet  the  poor  whom  the 
Saviour  loved." 

Ozanam  received  a  very  warm  welcome  at  the  Library  of  60,000 
volumes,  which  was  near  by,  from  M.  Ferrucci,  "  a  most  charming 
librarian."  He  made  him  free  of  his  own  private  room  by  the  cosy 
fire,  at  the  same  table  at  which  M.  Ravaisson,  of  the  Institute  of  Paris, 
had  been  working  the  previous  year.  The  Professors  of  the  University 
showed  him  like  respect.  "  We  have  here,"  he  wrote,  "  a  miniature 
Athens,  if  I  may  so  term  a  hundred  Greek  students.  But  I  must  admit 
that  those  disciples  of  Aristides  and  Philipaemon  are  less  attentive 
to  the  schools  than  to  the  theatres  ;  and  that  they  think  badly  of 
paying  their  debts." 

In  that  Library  Ozanam  began  his  research  into  the  foundations 
of  the  Italian  Republics,  in  fulfilment  of  the  mission  with  which  he 
had  been  charged  by  the  Minister.  His  work  L' Emancipation  de  la 
Commune  de  Milan  au  XT  siecle  provided  him  with  the  subject-matter 
as  well  as  the  documents,  bringing  him  face  to  face  with  Gregory  VII 
and  Peter  Damien  :  "  In  returning  via  Milan  I  shall  take  a  last 
impression  of  those  scenes,  which  will  give  life  and  colour  to  the  his 
tory  ;  I  shall  draw  up  the  work  after  the  style  of  M.  Augustin  Thierry. 
It  is  a  work  which  the  sick  man  of  Pisa  can  do,  particularly  if  the  Italian 
sun  will  only  shine  into  his  window  from  the  Lung  Arno  and  warm  his 
imagination." 

The  sun  was  slow  in  coming.  The  weather  during  Lent  was  terrible. 
"  Torrential  rains  have  swollen  the  waters  of  the  Arno  so  that  they 
threaten  the  marble  bridges  ;  a  few  steps  from  our  place  the  snows 
whiten  the  hillsides  of  Lucca." 

Another  work  which  charmed  his  weary  hours,  without  however 
curing  his  malady,  was  the  preparation  of  his  Odyssey,  as  he  called 
his  Pelerinage  au  pays  du  Cid.  He  worked  at  it  under  his  wife's  eyes 
who,  "  dreading  lest  he  should  become  worse,  was  bold  enough  to  argue 
that  the  barren  mountains  of  Old  Castile  had  not  the  beauty  of  the 
Roman  Campagna,  that  he  was  making  too  much  of  the  Huelgas 
and  Miraflores,  and  that  she  would  not  give  three  maravedi  for  St. 
John's  Tomb,  etc. — But  I  am  standing  by  all  my  notes,"  the  husband 
wrote  to  M.  Ampere.  "  I  propose,  on  my  return  to  Paris,  to  deliver 
some  lectures  on  the  poem  of  the  Cid,  if  God  gives  me  the  strength 


FREDERICK  OZANAM 

to  do  so,  to  make  some  use  of  my  trip  to  Spain  and  to  write  a  little 
account  of  it,  of  which  you  will  not  be  ashamed." 

The  memory  of  the  Sorbonne  continued  to  abide  and  to  sadden 
him  :  "Ah  !  My  poor  Sorbonne,"  he  wrote,  "  how  often  do  I  return 
in  spirit  to  your  smoky  halls,  which  I  found  filled  with  a  noble  band 
of  young  men  !  My  dear  friend,  next  to  the  infinite  consolation  which 
a  Catholic  finds  at  the  altar,  next  to  family  happiness,  I  do  not  know 
any  greater  pleasure  than  to  address  young  men  who  have  intelligence 
and  spirit." 

That  letter  was  written  to  M.  Benoit,  a  Christian  like  himself,  who 
was  filling  his  place  in  his  absence,  congratulating  him  and  thanking 
him  for  his  beautiful  lectures  on  German  Literature. 

His  thoughts  wandered  at  other  times  to  the  distant  home 
of  some  friend.  He  wrote  to  M.  Lenormant :  "  The  place  which 
you  keep  for  me  in  your  thoughts  recalls  that  which  I  found  in 
your  home,  when  Madame  Lenormant  welcomed  my  wife  and  myself 
with  cordiality  and  grace.  I  do  not  know  what  God  will  expect  from 
me,  but  He  has  certainly  done  much  for  the  honour  and  happiness 
of  my  life  in  the  choice  of  friends.  However  poor  an  opinion  I  have 
of  myself,  I  cannot  believe  that  I  have  been  created  for  nothing, 
when  He  has  made  me  acquainted  with  the  best  Christians  and  the 
chosen  spirits  of  my  time." 

Nearly  all  Ozanam's  letters  to  friends  in  France  during  that  Lent 
were  letters  of  thanks.  Nobody  was  more  exact  than  he  in  discharging 
the  duty  of  thanking  men,  as  well  as  God,  for  favours  received. 
Having  received  the  appreciation  of  the  Poetes  franciscains  which 
Ampere  had  contributed  to  the  Revue  des  Deux-Mondes  on  the  I5th 
May  :  "  My  dear  friend,"  he  wrote  him,  "  you  have  overwhelmed 
us  both,  myself  and  my  dear  Franciscans.  I  wish  to  thank  you 
for  the  picture  you  have  drawn  of  the  pious  mendicant  Friars,  whom 
you  appreciate  with  such  kindness,  and  who  live  again  in  your  articles. 
Your  three  pages  have  the  warm  colour  and  the  sweet  perfume  of 
that  convent  garden  which  you  outline,  with  the  jasmine  trailing  along 
its  cloisters.  Amelie  and  I,  as  disinterested  critics,  agreed  that  it 
was  one  of  your  most  delightful  sketches.  May  I  add  that  our  regrets 
for  the  absent  were  not  altogether  coloured  by  concern  for  ourselves, 
and  that  such  feelings  are  deeply  engraven  in  our  hearts." 

Ozanam's  faculties,  natural  and  supernatural,  would  appear  to 
have  surpassed  themselves  in  those  last  two  years  in  spite  of  suffering, 


FAMILY  AFFECTION  381 

perhaps  indeed  because  of  it.  It  is  indeed  the  ascent  of  life  to  the 
highest  elevation  of  spirit.  Kindheartedness  and  sensitiveness  show 
supreme  delicacy  and  tenderness.  He  explains  :  "  In  this  peaceful 
city,  in  this  life  of  repose,  I  seem  to  drink  deeper  in  the  well  of  my 
family's  affection,  to  dwell  with  greater  fondness  on  the  memories 
of  my  friends.  I  have  more  time  to  enter  into  my  heart,  and  I  find 
much  to  improve  in  it ;  but  I  believe  that  I  also  find  faith  and  peace, 
which  is  sufficient  to  ensure  much  happiness."  Elsewhere,  speaking 
of  those  around  him  he  said  :  "  You  see,  my  dear  friend,  that  if  our 
Lord  invites  me  to  bear  with  Him  His  Cross,  He  gave  me  what  is 
given  in  Rome,  a  very  tiny  cross,  enclosed  in  a  beautiful  shrine  ;  that 
is  to  say,  with  consolations  and  infinite  sweetness.  I  have  my  good, 
tender  Amelie  by  my  side,  who  cares  for  me  with  love  and  sympathy. 
I  have  my  darling  Marie,  who  is  ever  merry,  and  is  beginning  to  enter 
tain  us  with  her  childish  prattle  in  Italian.  For  my  conscience,  I 
have  a  priest  full  of  charity  and  wisdom.  God  has  given  me  new 
friends,  while  I  know  that  I  am  not  forgotten  by  the  old." 

He  cannot  thank  God  sufficiently  for  his  wife's  devotion  :  "  The 
lady  of  the  house  sends  you  her  kind  regards.  The  good  little  woman 
has  had  very  many  bad  days.  But  she  smiles  again  with  the  first 
rays  of  spring  sunshine.  Certainly  if  I  recover  it  is  she  who  will  be 
mainly  responsible  for  it."  Again  "  You  know  her  whom  God  gave 
me  for  a  visible  guardian  angel,  you  have  seen  her  at  work.  But 
you  would  not  credit  her  resourcefulness,  not  only  in  easing  but  in 
consoling  me  since  my  illness  became  serious.  What  ingenious, 
patient,  indefatigable  tenderness  surrounds  me  at  all  times,  and  anti 
cipates  my  every  desire  !"  He  exclaims  at  the  end  of  another  letter  : 
"  What  have  I  done  to  deserve  from  the  hand  of  God  such  a  loving 
family  and  such  good  friends  !" 

He  loved  them  in  God,  the  God  of  the  altar  at  which  he  prayed, 
Whom  he  received  in  Holy  Communion,  the  God  of  the  Heaven   to 
which  he  aspired  :  "  When  I  have  not  been  able  to  be  with  you  on  the 
great  feast-days,  I  have  found  you  at  the  altar.     I  believe  firmly  that 
when  I  am  receiving,  I  am  in  close  touch  with  my  friends,  all  umt( 
to  the  same  Saviour.     Why  is  it  that  so  soon  after  leaving  that  holy 
company  I  sink  again  into  despondency?     When  shall  we  see  that 
place   where  there  shall  be  no  divisions  among  Christians,  nor  pu 
injustice,  nor  disgrace  for  mighty  nations  !" 

He  confided  the  future  of  his  dearest  in  this  world  to  the  friendship 


382  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

of  a  priest  of  great  merit :  "Farewell,  dear  friend,"  he  wrote  to  the  Abbe 
Maret,  "it  is  a  source  of  frequent  comsolation  to  me  to  think  that 
when  I  die,  you  will  be  the  friend  of  my  little  family  as  you  have  been 
mine.  Thus  all  this  family  will  love  you  dearly,  but  none  more  dearly 
than  yours,  etc." 

He  was  thinking  of  his  death  towards  which  he  was  making  his 
way,  carrying  his  cross.     He  replied  as  follows  to  Dr.  Franchisteguy, 
who   told    him  of  the  sudden    death   of   a  member  of  the   Society 
in  Bayonne,  who  died  after  a  long  illness  and  who  had  done  much  good 
in  his  lifetime  :  "  He  has  been  called  suddenly,  but  not  unpreparedly. 
When  I  see  Christians  visited  with  long  and  severe  suffering  in  this 
world,  I  regard  them  as  souls  who  are  having  their  purgatory  here, 
and  who  are  entitled  to  the  pity  and  regard  which  we  owe  to  the  souls 
of  the  Church  Suffering  in  Purgatory.     Ah  !   If  God  is  willing  to  accept 
the  suffering  borne  here  below  in  expiation  for  sins,  how  happy  are 
they  who  are  purified  at  such  a  cheap  price,  purified  by  suffering  which 
is  infinitely  less  than  that  in  the  life  beyond,  a  suffering  which  has 
the  consolations  of  religion,  friendship  and  family,  in  the  company  of 
a  wife  who  spends  herself  in  tenderness  and  care,  surrounded  by  glad 
children  who  would  bring  a  smile  to  the  lips  of  the  most  desolate  ! 
Would  that  not   be  a  happy   lot,  to  suffer  thus  for  two  or  for  ten 
years,  and  then  to  enter  straight  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord  !" 
It  was  thus  that  Ozanam  was  preparing  himself  to  die. 
The  sacrifice  had  been  already  begun  by  the  voluntary  surrender  of 
pleasure.     He  wrote  to  Lallier  :  "  Do  you  know,  my  dear  friend,  that 
during  the  last  three  weeks  of  Lent  I  have  devoted  my  thoughts 
serious^  to  holding  myself  ready  for  the  final  sacrifice.     It  was  a 
hard  business  for  human  nature  ;  but  it  seemed  to  me,  that  with  God's 
help,  I  was  beginning  to  give  up  everything  except  those  who  love 
me,  and  whom  I  can  love  up  there  as  well  as  here.     I  gave  up  first 
the  project  of  accompanying  my  mother-in-law  to  Rome,  which  meant 
the  ceremonies  of  Holy  Week,  the  Catacombs,  the  Easter  Mass,  which 
is  for  me  the  greatest  of  all  visible  sights,  the  consolation  of  kissing 
again  the  feet  of  Pius  IX,  and  of  visiting  once  again  the  tomb  of  the 
holy  Apostles." 

Easter  had  come.  After  two  months'  continuous  rain,  the  sky 
had  brightened,  and  with  it,  his  heart.  "  This  day  my  hopes  awaken 
with  the  sunshine  which  calls  the  flowers  from  their  long  sleep,"  he 
wrote  on  the  I5th  April  to  Ampere.  "  I  commence  to  live  since  Easter  : 


CATHOLIC  ACTION  IN  TUSCANY  383 

should  the  improvement  be  maintained,  what  a  great  happiness  it 
will  be  to  see  you  in  Paris  at  the  end  of  May.  But  will  God  allow  it  ? 
Let  Him  be  thanked  for  all  that  He  has  already  done  for  me.  Let 
us  hope  that  He  will  complete  the  work.  But  His  will  be  done.  Where 
can  I  better  learn  submission  to  His  holy  will  than  in  this  land  of 
Tuscany,  which  can  show  many  artists,  but  a  still  greater  number  of 
saints  ?" 

One  thing  that  did  him  good,  body  and  soul,  was  the  progress  of 
Catholic  action  in  those  same  lands  of  Tuscany  and  Liguria,  through 
the  Conferences  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  Easter  Monday's 
letter  to  Lallier  mentions  five  new  nourishing  branches  "  on  this  soil 
where  Catholic  life  was  languishing,  as  if  stifled  under  the  golden 
shackles  of  Josephism."  *  Similarly  in  Genoa  and  its  environs,  the 
Catholic  spirit,  struggling  with  Mazzinism,  Socialism,  and  Protestant 
ism,  had  mustered  its  forces  around  the  same  banner  :  "  The  spirit  of 
Voltaire  still  flourishes  among  the  middle  classes,  but  the  Faith  sur 
vives  in  the  mass  of  the  people.  Here,  as  indeed  nearly  everywhere, 
many  good  people  have  not  the  Faith  ;  but  the  greatest  minds  are 
proud  to  be  believers." 

"April  smiles  but  to  deceive,"  the  invalid  wrote  soon  after,  in  re 
porting  a  relapse.  "  I  know  that  my  malady  is  serious  although  not 
necessarily  fatal.  I  know  that  it  will  take  a  long  time  to  be  cured, 
and  that  perhaps  it  will  not  be  cured  ;  but  I  force  myself  to  be  resigned 
with  love  to  the  will  of  God  and  I  say,  I  am  afraid  more  with  the  mouth 
than  from  the  heart :  Volo  quod  vis,  volo  quando  vis,  volo  quomodo 
vis,  volo  quia  vis."  f  He  repeated  it  unceasingly. 

The  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  had  been  the  nourishment 
of  his  life,  became  the  daily  food  of  his  soul  during  that  sad  winter 
in  Pisa.  The  Psalms  and  the  Gospels  divided  his  attention  :  "  During 
the  long  weeks  of  lassitude  the  Psalms  have  scarce  left  my  hands. 
I  never  weary  of  those  sublime  plaints,  the  loud  cries  of  hope,  the 
petitions  laden  with  love,  which  are  applicable  to  all  needs,  and  to 
all  forms  of  human  distress."  Not  only  did  he  mark  the  most  beauti 
ful  passages,  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do,  but  he  requested  his 
wife  to  copy  them  out  for  him,  so  that  he  could  have  them  before  his 
eyes  the  whole  day,  and  also  that  others  would  find  in  them  solace 

^f^wtarT^  wPilles7t4' when  Thou  wiliest,  in  whatever  way  Thou  wiliest, 
because  Thou  wiliest. 


384  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

and  refreshment  in  their  grief.  Translated  and  collected  into  one 
little  volume  under  the  title  Livre  des  malades  with  a  Preface  by  Pere 
Lacordaire — a  worthy  introduction, — those  pages,  divine  rather  than 
human,  are  dedicated  to  all  who  labour  and  are  heavy  laden. 

The  23rd  April,  1853,  was  his  fortieth  birth-day.  It  was  a  solemn 
date  :  would  he  see  another  year  ?  He  opened  his  Bible  at  the  Can 
ticle  of  King  Ezechias  and  read  what  appears  below ;  it  was  the  answer 
from  on  high.  He  transcribed  the  passage  ;  then  on  the  same  page, 
in  the  presence  of  God,  he  poured  out  all  his  grief  and  offered  up  all 
in  terms  of  heroic  and  sublime  grandeur.  It  is  the  Ecce  venio.  It 
must  not  be  condensed  : 

Pisa,  23  April,  1853. 

I  said  in  the  midst  of  my  days  :   I  shall  go  to  the  gates  of  death. 

I  sought  jor  the  residue  of  my  years  :  I  said,  I  shall  not  see  the  Lord 
God  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

My  life  is  swept  from  me  and  is  rolled  away  as  a  shepherd's  tent. 

My  life  is  cut  off  as  by  a  weaver  :  whilst  I  was  but  beginning  he  cut 
me  off :  from  morning  even  till  night  thou  wilt  make  an  end  of  me. 

My  eyes  are  weakened  with  looking  upward. 

Lord  I  suffer  violence,  answer  thou  for  me.  What  shall  I  say,  or 
what  shall  he  answer  for  me  whereas  he  himself  hath  done  it. 

I  will  recount  to  thee  all  my  years  in  the  bitterness  of  my  soul. 

'  That  is  the  beginning  of  the  Canticle  of  Ezechias.  I  do  not  know 
if  God  will  permit  me  to  apply  the  end  of  it  to  myself.*  I  know  that 
I  complete  on  this  day  my  fortieth  year,  more  than  half  of  the  way 
of  life.  I  know  that  I  have  a  young  beloved  wife,  a  charming  daughter, 
excellent  brothers,  a  second  mother,  activities  brought  to  a  point 
at  which  they  could  serve  as  a  foundation  for  a  work  of  which  I  have 
long  dreamed.  I  know  also  that  I  am  attacked  by  a  deeply-seated 
and  serious  malady,  which  is  all  the  more  dangerous  in  that  it  means 
probably  a  complete  collapse. 

"  Must  I  leave  all  those  good  things  which  Thou  hast  given  me  ? 
Wilt  Thou  not  be  satisfied,  Lord,  with  part  ?  Which  of  my  ill-re 
gulated  affections  shall  I  sacrifice.  Wilt  Thou  not  accept  the  offering 
of  my  literary  self-sufficiency,  of  my  academic  ambitions,  of  my  plans 
for  research,  which  are  animated  perhaps  rather  by  pride  than  by 

*O  Lord,  save  me  and  we  shall  sing  our  psalms  all  the  days  of  our  life  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord. 


HIS  LAST  WILL  385 

zeal  for  truth  ?  If  I  sell  one  half  of  my  books  and  give  the  proceeds 
to  the  poor,  if  I  confine  my  activities  to  the  duties  of  my  official  posi 
tion,  and  devote  the  rest  of  my  life  to  visiting  the  poor,  teaching 
apprentices  and  soldiers,  Lord,  wilt  Thou  be  satisfied,  and  would'st 
Thou  leave  me  the  happiness  of  growing  old  by  the  side  of  my  wife, 
and  finishing  the  education  of  my  child  ? 

"  Perhaps,  my  God,  Thou  dost  not  will  that.  Thou  wilt  not  accept 
offerings  which  are  not  disinterested,  Thou  refusest  my  sacrifice. 
Thou  wilt  have  myself.  It  is  written  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Book  that  I  am  to  do  Thy  will  ?  I  said  :  I  come,  Lord  ! 

"  I  come.  If  Thou  callest,  Lord,  I  have  not  the  right  to  complain. 
Thou  hast  given  me  forty  years  of  life.  Let  my  family  not  be  scandal 
ised  if  Thou  wilt  not  work  a  miracle  to  cure  me.  Hast  Thou  not  led 
me  a  long  way  forward  in  five  years,  hast  Thou  not  granted  me  that 
respite  to  do  penance  for  my  sins,  and  to  become  better  ?  Oh  !  All 
the  prayers  that  were  then  offered  to  Thee  on  my  behalf  were  heard  : 
why  will  those  that  are  now  uttered  in  greater  volume  be  lost  ?" 

"  But  it  may  be,  Lord,  that  they  will  be  heard  in  another  way. 
Thou  wilt  give  me  the  courage,  the  resignation,  the  calm  of  soul,  the 
inexpressible  consolations  that  accompany  Thy  Real  Presence.  Thou 
wilt  give  me  the  grace  to  make  my  sickness  a  source  of  merit  and 
blessing :  the  blessing,  Thou  wilt  shower  on  my  wife,  my  child,  on  all 
belonging  to  me,  to  whom  my  works  would  be  of  less  avail  than  my 
sufferings. 

"  If  I  recount  to  Thee  all  my  years  of  bitterness,  it  is  because  of  the 
sins  with  which  I  have  stained  them.  But  when  I  consider  the  graces 
with  which  Thou  hast  enriched  me,  Lord,  I  recount  to  Thee  all  my 
years  in  the  gratitude  of  my  heart. 

"  If  Thou  wert  to  chain  me  to  a  bed  of  suffering  for  the  rest  of  my 
days,  it  would  not  suffice  to  thank  Thee  for  the  days  which  I  have  lived. 
Should  these  lines  be  the  last  that  I  shall  write,  let  them  be  a  canticle 
to  Thy  goodness." 

Ozanam  thanks  the  divine  goodness  for  having  given  him  such  an 
excellent  father,  such  an  admirable  mother,  for  the  education  which 
he  received.  He  closes  :  "  You  who  will  pray  for  me,  when  I  am  gone, 
pray  also  for  my  father  and  mother.  The  blessing  of  God  is  on  those 
families  in  which  parents  are  remembered." 

Those  beautiful  lines  had  their  complement.  Ozanam  that  same 
solemn  day  took  advantage  of  the  short  absence  from  the  room  of 


386  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

his  wife  whom  he  did  not  wish  to  grieve,  to  sketch  out  his  will  in 
the  following  short  form,  which  he  intended  to  revise  and  complete  : 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.     Amen. 

"  This  day,  the  23rd  of  April,  1853,  on  completing  my  4Oth  year, 
in  great  physical  sickness  but  sound  in  mind,  I  express  here  in  a  few 
words  my  last  wishes,  intending  to  set  them  forth  more  fully  when  I 
shall  have  more  strength. 

"  I  commit  my  soul  to  Jesus  Christ  my  Saviour,  frightened  at  my 
sins,  but  trusting  in  His  infinite  mercy. 

"I  die  in  the  Holy,  Catholic,  Apostolic,  and  Roman  Church.  I 
have  known  the  difficulties  of  belief  of  the  present  age,  but  my  whole 
life  has  convinced  me  that  there  is  neither  rest  for  the  mind  nor  peace 
for  the  heart  save  in  the  Church  and  in  obedience  to  her  authority. 

"  If  I  set  any  value  on  my  research,  it  is  that  it  gives  me  the  right 
to  entreat  all  whom  I  love,  to  remain  faithful  to  the  religion  in  which 
I  found  light  and  peace.  My  supreme  prayer  for  my  family,  my  wife, 
my  child,  and  grandchildren,  is  that  they  will  persevere  in  the  Faith, 
despite  any  humiliation,  scandals,  or  desertions  which  may  come  to 
their  knowledge. 

"  I  bid  a  farewell,  short  as  the  things  of  earth,  to  my  dear  Amelie, 
who  has  been  the  joy  and  the  charm  of  my  life,  and  whose  tender  care 
has  softened  all  my  pain  for  more  than  a  year.  I  thank  her,  I  bless 
her,  I  await  her  in  Heaven.  There,  and  only  there,  can  I  give  her 
such  love  as  she  deserves." 

"  I  give  to  my  child  the  benediction  of  the  Patriarchs,  In  the  Name 
of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  am  sad  that 
I  cannot  labour  longer  at  the  dear  task  of  her  education,  but  I  entrust 
her  absolutely  to  her  virtuous  and  well-beloved  mother." 

Ozanam  then  mentions  his  two  brothers,  his  mother-in-law,  his 
relatives,  his  friends  in  Paris  and  in  Lyons,  embracing  them  all  in 
his  thoughts,  and  promising  to  meet  them  again  with  his  other  dear 
ones.  The  Abbe  Noirot,  M.  Ampere,  Henri  Pessonneaux,  Lallier, 
Dufieux,  have  a  place  to  themselves.  He  asks  pardon  of  all  for  his 
levity  and  his  bad  example. 

He  asks  the  prayers  of  each,  and  especially  the  prayers  of  the  Society 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul :  "  Do  not  allow  yourselves  to  be  stopped  by 
those  who  will  say  to  you,  '  He  is  in  Heaven.'  Pray  always  for  him 
who  loves  you  dearly,  for  him  who  has  greatly  sinned.  If  I  am  assured 
of  these  prayers,  I  quit  this  earth  with  less  fear.  I  hope  firmly  that 


TO  LEGHORN 

we  are  not  being  separated,  and  that  I  may   remain  with  you   until 
you  will  come  to  me. 

"  May  the  blessing  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  descend 
upon  you.  Amen." 

As  soon  as  the  warm  weather  permitted,  and  indeed  required  it, 
the  doctors  ordered  the  invalid  to  the  seaside.  We  shall  see  him  at 
Leghorn,  at  San-Jacopo,  at  Antignano,  successive  scenes  of  a  struggle 
in  which  the  soul  retained  mastery  over  the  body  ;  a  struggle  which 
began  in  hope,  which  followed  its  course  in  patience,  which  was  con 
summated  in  the  love  of  the  will  of  God.  It  closed  at  Marseilles 
where  the  body  and  the  soul  were  separated,  each  to  return  whence 
it  had  come,  one  to  the  heaven  which  welcomed  it,  the  other  to  the 
•earth  which  took  it  to  its  bosom. 


388 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
LEGHORN.— THE  LAST  SUMMER. 
SAN-JACOPO. — SIENNA. — I/ANTIGNANO,    MARSEILLES— A    HOLY    DEATH. 

Leghorn  is  about  12  miles  below  Pisa.  A  charming  little  village 
named  San  Jacopo,  nestles  among  the  rocks  on  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  journey  from  Leghorn. 
"  It  was  there,"  wrote  Ozanam,  "  that  we  alighted  like  a  flock  of 
gulls  as  soon  as  ever  the  first  dawn  of  May  gave  hope  of  Spring.  I 
said  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  journey,  that  is  by  the  clock  ;  but  fully  a 
hundred  miles  away  by  the  appearance  of  the  country,  the  quiet  of 
the  scene  and  the  clearness  of  the  air.  San  Jacopo  has  the  good  sense 
to  turn  its  back  on  the  idea  of  a  commercial  town,  and  to  open  its 
windows  joyously  to  the  sea  on  a  southern  aspect.  In  front  of  us 
stretches  the  Mediterranean  with  the  magic  of  its  ever-changing 
waters,  dancing,  sparkling  under  the  sun's  rays,  iridescent  and  lustrous 
under  a  cloudy  sky.  It  is  immensity,  but  it  is  not  solitude.  Steamers, 
ships,  fishing  vessels,  move  about  on  its  waters  ;  in  the  distance  are 
to  be  seen  Gorgone,  Capraja,  Elba,  Corsica.  That  beautiful  picture 
is  framed  on  our  right  by  the  mountains  of  Spezia  crowned  with  snow, 
on  our  left  by  Montenero  with  its  Madonna,  whither  each  neighbour 
ing  village  comes  in  pilgrimage  during  the  month  of  May." 

Ozanam  wrote  below  that  picture  :  "  My  wife  adores  this  place, 
but  she  raves  about  the  fishermen  with  their  pretty  lateen-sailed  boats. 
She  has  made  a  vow  that,  if  I  am  cured,  we  shall  sell  our  books,  buy 
a  fishing  boat  and  go  singing,  like  the  Italians,  coral-fishing  on  the 
coasts  of  Sicily  and  Sardinia.  Fortunately  I  have  not  made  that 
promise  :  I  stand  for  the  home-land  :  I  believe  that  the  very  first  sail 
that  would  waft  me  away,  would  bear  me  towards  France.  I  cannot 
rest  until  I  have  seen  my  many  friends  whose  memory  has  sweetened 
our  exile." 

Are  those  sketches  drawn  by  the  hand  of  a  dying  man  ? 


THE  CONFERENCE  AT  LEGHORN        389 

Ozanam  had  scarcely  arrived  in  Leghorn,  on  the  ist  May,  when  the 
Conference  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  carried  him  off  to 
preside  over  the  celebration  of  its  second  anniversary.  It  was  not 
enough  to  preside  ;  he  must  speak.  He  graciously  consented  to  say 
a  few  words.  Those  words  have  been  preserved  and  translated. 
They  are  his  last  words  in  public,  they  are  the  testament  of  his 
Charity. 

"  Although  I  am  forbidden  by  considerations  of  health  from 
delivering  even  the  shortest  address,  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation 
to  say  a  few  words  to  you,  to  express  the  pleasure  which  I  feel 
at  being  again  in  your  midst,  well-beloved  brothers  in  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul." 

Bringing  his  address  in  a  calm  spirit  to  bear  upon  his  own  state  of 
health,  he  gives  himself  up  to  memories  which  are  saddened  by  the 
thought  of  his  approaching  end  :  "  When  the  bad  days  of  life  come 
for  the  Christian,"  he  said,  "  when  he  finds  himself  a  prey  to  great 
infirmity,  that  is  the  time  for  him  to  run  back  in  his  mind  over  the 
years  that  are  passed,  to  recall  the  good  and  the  evil  which  he  has 
done,  the  evil,  to  repent  of  and  do  penance  for,  the  good,  to  find  consola 
tion  and  encouragement  therein,  in  his  present  affliction.  I  have  that 
experience  to-day,  and  my  tongue  is  incapable  of  expressing  the 
consolation  which  the  memory  of  my  early  years  brings  to  my  soul, 
especially  since  I  do  not  know  if  God  will  grant  me  much  longer  the 
joy  of  seeing  the  good  which  our  dear  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
is  doing." 

Ozanam  congratulated  the  Leghorn  Conference  on  the  progress 
which  it  had  made  in  two  years.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Society  itself, 
the  Conference  was  founded  in  the  month  of  flowers,  the  month  dedi 
cated  to  Mary,  our  special  Protectress.  It  had  at  first  only  eight 
members,  a  feature  of  the  first  Conference.*  Ozanam  knew  that  the 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  development  was  due  to  political  divisions : 
"  That  should  not  exist  in  Italian  cities,  which  had  long  been  torn 
by  factions,  until  Fr.  John  of  Vicenza,  and  St.  Bernard  of  Sienna,  flung 
themselves,  crucifix  in  hand,  between  the  combatants  to  reconcile 
them."  Class  hatred  also  existed.  "  It  is  for  you  then,  my  dear 
Brothers,  to  intervene  between  rich  and  poor  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  God  of  the  poor  and  of  the  rich,  the  greatest  of  the  rich, 

*See  Appendix  as  to  the  number  of  members  in  the  first  Conference. 


390  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

since  He  is  so  by  nature,  the  holiest  of  the  poor,  since  He  is  poor  by 
the  free  choice  of  love." 

Ozanam's  words  now  breathed  vigour  and  grace.  It  is  the  pheno 
menon  of  the  life  ascending,  and  the  last  flow  of  the  autumn  sap  to  the 
ends  of  those  topmost  branches  that  look  towards  heaven. 

The  same  charity  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  urged  him,  on  the  5th 
of  May,  to  write  an  extremely  kind  letter  to  one  of  his  most  interesting 
'  cases  '  in  Paris,  M.  Jerusalemy.  He  was  a  converted  Jew  who  had 
been  recommended  to  the  Society  by  the  Conferences  in  Rome  and  in 
Constantinople,  and  who  had  suffered  courageously  for  his  conversion. 
Ozanam  congratulates  him  upon  being  a  Jew,  one  of  the  chosen  race 
of  other  days  :  "  Ah  !  my  friend,"  he  said,  "  when  one  has  the  happi 
ness  of  being  a  Christian,  it  is  a  great  honour  to  be  born  a  Jew  and  to 
feel  oneself  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  patriarchs  and  the  prophets, 
whose  words  are  so  beautiful  that  the  Church  finds  nothing  better  to 
put  into  the  mouths  of  her  children.  You  must  know  then  that 
during  the  long  weeks  of  lassitude,  the  Psalms  of  David  have  scarce 
left  my  hands.  Has  not  the  Saviour  allowed  Himself  to  be  called  the 
Son  of  David  ?  I,  too,  cry  out  often  in  my  infirmity  :  'Son  of  David, 
have  mercy  on  me  ! '  I  do  not  know  if  I  told  you,  but  my  brother 
Charles  will  tell  you,  that  we  also  believe  we  are  of  Jewish  descent, 
which  is  another  bond  of  union  between  us.  You  ought,  therefore,  to 
understand  why  we  brothers  have  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  concerns 
you.  I  believe  that  Charles  will  have  introduced  you  into  a  Conference 
of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  It  does  me  good  to  know  that 
we  are  linked  together  by  that  bond.  Do  not  weary  of  loving,  nor  of 
praying,  my  dear  Jerusalemy,  for  one  who  is  yours  devotedly."  That 
letter  is  the  perfection  of  kindness. 

The  beneficial  effect  of  the  sea  on  Ozanam's  health  was  not  slow 
in  making  itself  felt,  as  he  had  already  experienced  at  Dieppe  and 
Biarritz.  Having  got  back  a  little  of  his  strength,  he  attempted  to 
resume  literary  work.  It  was  at  San-Jacopo  that  he  began,  for  the 
tenth  time,  the  final  revision  of  his  trip  to  Burgos,  his  three  days 
Odyssey.  "  Ah  !"  he  exclaimed  occasionally,  "why  is  this  San  Jacopo 
of  Leghorn  not  St.  James  of  Compostella."  He  wrote  slowly,  quietly, 
at  intervals  on  the  same  table  at  which  his  daughter  Marie  was  learning 
her  lessons.  As  soon  as  a  page  was  finished  he  read  it  to  his  wife,  both 
experiencing  a  feeling  of  joy  at  seeing  the  attentive  face  of  the  child, 
who  also  did  not  forget. 


HIS  LITERARY  DISTINCTIONS  391 

About  that  time,  May- June,  1853,  the  Poetes  franciscains  opened  the 
doors  of  the  Florentine  Academy  De  La  Crusca  to  him,  and  he  was 
received  into  its  ranks  at  the  same  sitting  as  Cesare  Balbo,  the  re 
nowned  author  of  the  Speranze  d'  I  Mia.  He  had  been  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  Tiberian  Academy  of  Rome  since  1841,  a  member  of 
the  Academy  of  the  Arcades  since  1844.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Bavaria,  1847,  of  the  Lyons  Academy,  ist 
January,  1848.  But  nothing  seems  to  have  touched  him  so  much  as 
his  affiliation  to  the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  The  certificate  of  member 
ship,  under  the  seal  of  the  General  of  the  Order,  was  delivered  to  him 
in  San  Jacopo.  "  He  numbers  me  among  the  benefactors  of  the 
Franciscan  family,"  he  wrote  on  the  22nd  of  June,  "  and  gives  me  a 
share  in  the  merits  of  the  Friars  Minors  who  are  working  and  praying 
for  everyone,  it  is  not  the  least  affecting  of  my  titles." 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  same  letter  he  definitely  gave  up  all  idea 
of  membership  of  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions  and  Literature,  for 
which  honour  his  friends  declared  him  qualified  and  designated.  He 
replied  to  M.  Ampere  :  "  In  such  a  solemn  moment,  when  every 
question  of  my  future  is  hanging  on  the  great  question  of  my  health, 
when  I  am  asking  God  to  let  me  live  for  the  sake  of  my  wife  and  child, 
would  there  not  be  a  certain  inconsistency  in  seeking  that  superfluity 
to  satisfy  my  literary  self-love  ?" 

Two  months  "intimate  acquaintance  with  the  sea"  had  passed 
when  Ozanam  was  able  to  write  with  gratitude  :  "1  am  enjoying  the 
pleasure  of  resuming  by  degrees  my  way  of  living.  I  am  able  to  take 
long  walks  without  fatigue  ;  I  spend  mornings  on  the  rocks  watching 
the  waves,  every  trick  of  which  I  know  by  this  time.  My  strength 
is  coming  back  but  slowly  ;  but  that  was  to  be  expected  after  such  a 
long  and  serious  attack.  Certainly  if  July  and  August,  which  are 
reputed  to  be  great  doctors,  treat  me  well,  I  shall  be  cured  this 
autumn." 

The  following  day,  the  23rd  of  June,  was  the  twelfth  anniversary 
of  his  marriage.  Ozanam,  sitting  in  sight  of  the  sea  dotted  with  sails, 
wrote  the  following  verses  in  honour  of  his  wife,  with  a  pure  and  tender 
grace,  inspired  by  faith,  hope  and  love,  the  three  Christian  Muses  : 

Sur  r£cueil  de  San- Jacopo,  23  juin,  1853. 

Sur  un  ecueil  lointain,  notre  nef  echouee 
Attend  le  flot  sauveur  qui  la  ramene  au  port  ; 
Et  la  Madone,  a  qui  la  barque  fut  vouee, 
Semble  sourde  a  nos  voeux  ;  et  1'Enfant  Jesus  dort  ! 


392  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Pourtant  voici  douze  ans,  sous  ce  doux  patronage 

Nous  partions,  pleins  d'espoir  ;  des  fleurs  ornaient  ton  front  ; 

Et  bientot.  pour  charmer,  pour  benir  le  voyage, 

A  la  poupe  s'assit  un  petit  ange  blond. 

Depuis  ce  temps,  le  ciel  s'est  noirci  sur  nos  tetes, 
Les  vents  ont  ballottS  notre  esquif  nuit  et  jour. 
Mais  nous  n'avons  pas  vu  si  cmelles  tempetes 
Ni  si  rudes  climats  ou  s'eteignit  1'amour. 

Non,  non,  je  ne  veux  plus  craindre  sous  votre  garde. 
Compagne  de  1'exil  que  Dieu  me  prepare  ! 
Dejd  d'un  oeil  clement  la  Yierge  nous  regarde. 
Tout  a  1'heure  1' Enfant  Jesus  s'eveillera. 

Et  sa  main  nous  poussant  vers  une  mer  calmee, 
Sans  peur  et  sans  etiort  nous  toucherous  enftn 
Au  bord  ou  uos  amis,  foule  ardente  et  charmee, 
Signalent  notre  voile  et  nous  tendent  la  main.* 

1  he  house  in  San  Jacopo  could  not  keep  its  guests  beyond  the  end  of 
June.  The  doctors  permitted  Ozanam  to  spend  JuU*  and  August  at 
Antignano,  a  pretty  little  village  at  the  foot  of  Montenero.  The  best 
society  in  Florence,  Pisa,  Sienna  and  Leghorn  spent  those  months 
there  :  "  We  are  to  be  Italians  for  two  months.  Marie  will  take  baths 
and  I,  the  air.  I  shall  enjoy  the  charming  society  of  Professor 
Femicci  and  through  him  the  books  of  the  Pisa  Library.  He  was  my 
literary  purveyor  during  the  winter.  Neither  will  my  wife  and  child 
be  lonely.  I f  God  permits  my  cure  to  continue,  we  shall  spend  a  happy 
time  there.  The  memory  of  the  absent  will  not  be  wanting,  and  on  this 
occasion  there  will  also  be  the  hope  of  again  seeing  them." 

As  Antignano  could  not  receive  Ozanam  until  the  middle  of  July, 
he  spent  the  first  fortnight  of  the  month  in  making  what  he  called 
"  his  pastoral  visitation  "  of  the  Conferences  in  that  area,  Florence, 
Pontedera,  Prato,  etc.  He  sent  a  report  of  the  visitation  to  Paris. 
We  shall  be  pardoned  for  reproducing  the  description  of  the  humble 

•  On  the  Rock  of  San- Jacopo,  23rd  Jttnf.  1853. 

Stranded  on  a  distant  rock  our  little  barque  awaits  the  saving  tide  to  bring 
it  into  port.  The  Madonna,  to  whom  the  vessel  is  dedicated,  seems  deaf  to  our 
appeals  and  the  Infant  Jesus  slumbers  ! 

It  is  twelve  years  to-day  since  we  set  out  on  our  voyage  full  of  hope  ;  garlands 
decorated  thy  head.  To  bless  the  voyage,  a  little  fair- haired  angel  soon  appeared 
at  the  stern. 

Since  then  the  heavens  have  grown  dark  and  the  storms  have  blown  our  little 
skifi  hither  and  thither  by  night  and  day.  But  neither  the  trials  of  the  tempest 
nor  the  hardships  of  the  climate  could  extinguish  our  love. 

Dearest  companion  of  the  exile  whom  God  allotted  to  me,  I  have  no  further 
fear  in  your  sweet  care.     Already  the  merciful  eyes  of  the  Virgin  Mother  are   « 
turning  to  us  :  the  Infant  Jesus  will  soon  awaken. 

Drawn  by  His  hand  into  a  calm  sea  we  shall  reach  at  length  the  shore  where 
our  longing,  loving  friends  are  waiting  to  receive  us. 


PONTEDERA  AND  SIENNA 

artisan  who  presided  over  the  Conference  of  Pontedecu    "Pontedera 
is  a  good  market-town  erf  from  five  to  six  thousand  inhabitants 
You  must  not  expect  to  find  nobles  and  savants  there,  «<m  muiU 
nobiUs,  non  multi  sapientts.    But  we  have  Brother  B.  there,  an< 
him  one  of  the  most  capable  and  most  commanding  Presidents  that  I 
know.     Brother  B.  is  a  knife-grinder,  but  not  a  travelling  grinder 
he  has  a  shop  with  a  very  good  connexion.      On  market  days  he 
sharpens  scythes,  reaping-hooks  and  priming-hooks  for  the  peasants. 
But  in  his  leisure  hours— and  Italians  have  many  such— 
has  read  a  good  deal ;  he  studies  his  religion  in  the  lives  and  the  works 
of  the  saints.     As  a  result  of  that  contact  with  the  greatest : 
Christianity  he  has  acquired  a  sound  knowledge,  and  in  ad< 
extraordinary  elevation  of  mind,  and  a  charm  of  speech  whi 
heightened  by  naturally  amiable  and  refined  manners.     He  came  in 
the  garb  of  a  workman,  but  before  five  minutes  Lad  elapsed 
cognised  in  him  a  superior  man  who  was  infinitely  more  interesting 
than  the  mob  of  distinguished  people  who  crowd  the  salons. 
few  words  he  brought,  not  merely  to    my  knowledge  b 
eyes,  the  little  Conference  of  Pontedera,  its  works,  difficulties  an< 
all  with  a  simplicity,  tact,  and  propriety  of  expressdo 
my  mind,  the  while  his  exquisite  Tuscan  pronunciation  delighted  i 


Ozanam  would  not  be  consoled  for  the  absence  of  a  Cor^ren' 
Vienna  ;  all  the  more  because  half  of  the  Pisa  University  nac  t>een 
mnsferred  thither,  bringing  in  its  tram  a  large  number  of  sradents. 
Ozanam  wished  to  go  there.    His  friends  objected  t^at  tue  )         ^ 
was  difficult :  "  Since  God  is  restoring  my  strength,    be  repi> 
is  in  His  sen-ice  that  it  must  be  spent. 

The  warmest  possible  welcome  «"as 
from  the  Rev.  Pere  Pendola,  the  i  o?t 
He  was  General  Head-Master  of  the  I 
Tuscany,  director  of  the  College  < 
portant  Italian  schools— a  Prole 

;.:    •• :. .   ----  =  -  ::--"      '- '-  -'  -'•    -''  '-~~' ""  : 

onlv  for  his  nve  \-isitors,  a  lad\',  an  in 

guide.    They  settled  down  in  the  house, 

iness  for  them,  where  every  care  was  lavished 

™te  to  P*e  Pennon  J«^ b« 

to  exist  in  happy  SKnna,  where,  it  is 


394  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

waited  on  by  angels.  We  are  indeed  not  saints,  but  a  good  angel  has 
certainly  waited  on  us.  We  left,  laden  with  presents  and  happy 
memories,  I  with  your  work  on  the  Lingua  Lombarda,  and  with  your 
portrait  which  I  value  still  more  highly  ;  Am&ie  with  Saint  Catherine  ; 
and  Marie  with  such  a  load  of  presents  that  we  might  as  well  have 
carried  away  the  Town  Hall  tower." 

But  the  one  thing  necessary,  the  sole  object  of  the  trip,  the  much- 
desired  establishment  of  a  Conference  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  had  not  been  achieved.  After  four  days'  efforts  to  lay  the 
foundations,  after  a  last  evening  spent  in  recommending  the  project 
to  the  Rev.  Father  and  to  some  influential  people,  the  answer  came, 
that  the  spirit  of  the  young  Tuscan  nobles  would  not  adapt  itself  to 
the  visitation  of  the  poor  in  their  homes.  Ozanam  went  away  bitterly 
disappointed.  It  was  only  the  hope  of  accomplishing  that  good  work, 
he  said,  that  sustained  him  and  made  him  capable  of  such  fatigue. 
He  had  failed.  When  he  returned  disappointed,  he  was  heard  saying, 
with  tears  in  his  eyes  :  "  God  no  longer  blesses  my  efforts.  He  does 
not  wish  for  any  further  service  at  my  hands  !" 

However,  Pere  Pendola,  whom  he  called  "  his  dear  friend,"  had  not 
said  his  last  word.  Having  had  no  reply  for  a  fortnight  after  his 
return  to  Antignano,  Ozanam  made  up  his  mind  to  make  another 
assault  on  that  noble  heart.  He  wrote.  The  last  lines  of  his  letter, 
all  aflame  with  the  charity  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  not  surpassed  by  any 
thing  which  has  come  from  that  heart  of  fire,  and  which  alas  !  was  so 
near  extinction  !  "  Reverend  Father  and  dear  friend,  I  was  very 
glad  to  sec  the  good  seed  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
germinate  and  fructify  in  your  Tuscan  soil.  I  have  seen  it  do  so 
much  good,  sustain  very  many  young  men  in  the  practice  of  virtue, 
and  enkindle  wonderful  zeal  !  We  have  Conferences  in  Quebec 
and  Mexico.  We  have  them  in  Jerusalem.  We  have  certainly  one 
in  Heaven,  for  more  than  a  thousand  of  our  Brothers  have,  during 
the  twenty  years  of  our  existence,  gone  to  the  better  life.  Why  then 
should  we  not  have  a  Conference  in  Sienna,  which  is  called  the  Ante- 
Chambcr  of  Paradise  ?  Why  should  we  not  see  in  the  city  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  a  Society  which  has  the  Blessed  Virgin  for  its  principal 
Patron  ?  Above  all,  why  should  we  not  succeed  in  the  College  of 
Tolomei,  where  our  young  branch,  under  your  fostering  hand,  would 
not  run  the  danger  of  precocious  maturity  ?" 

"  You  have  many  rich  children.     O  Father  !  what  a  salutary  lesson 


CROWNED  WITH  SUCCESS  395 

for  hearts  degenerated  by  luxury,  what  a  beneficent  sight  it  would  be 
to  show  them  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  not  only  in  the  pictures  of  great 
masters,  not  only  on  altars  glittering  with  gold  and  light,  but  in  the 
person  and  the  suffering  of  the  poor  !  We  have  often  discussed  the 
weakness,  the  futility,  of  men,  even  of  Christian  men,  among  the 
nobility  of  France  and  Italy.  I  am  satisfied  that  they  are  so  because 
one  thing  has  been  wanting  to  their  education.  There  are  some  things 
that  they  have  not  been  taught,  some  things  that  they  know  by  name 
only,  and  which  one  must  have  seen  others  suffer,  to  learn  how  to 
suffer  when  suffering  comes,  as  it  will  sooner  or  later.  Those 
things  are  grief,  privation,  want.  .  .  .  These  young  gentlemen 
must  learn  to  know  what  are  hunger,  thirst,  and  the  destitution 
of  a  garret.  They  must  look  at  wretched  fellow-creatures,  sick 
and  noisy  children.  They  must  look  at  them  and  love  them.  Such 
a  sight  will  pull  at  their  heart-strings  or  this  generation  were  lost. 
But  we  must  never  believe  in  the  death  of  a  young  Christian  soul. 
It  is  not  dead  bat  sleepeth." 

Ozanam  then  comes  to  the  ways  and  means  of  the  Society.  He 
sends  to  his  "  dear  and  valued  friend  "  the  Bulletin  of  the  Society, 
a  guide  for  the  formation  of  Conferences  in  Colleges,  the  adaptation  of 
the  Rule  to  their  special  circumstances,  the  visitation  of  the  poor  in 
their  homes,  in  groups  accompanied  by  a  master,  etc.  "  A  share  in 
all  their  good  works  will  be  added  to  the  crown  which  God  is  preparing 
for  Pere  Pendola,  and  which  will  be  awarded,  I  hope,  at  as  late  a  date 
as  possible." 

Now,  Gros-Jean  veut  precher  son  cure,*  and  wishes  to  be  excused 
for  it.  "  No,  Father,  it  is  not  I  who  am  preaching  ;  it  is  your  example, 
your  conversation,  your  charity,  which  are  preaching  to  me,  bidding 
me  to  trust  in  you  and  to  leave  that  good  work  in  your  hands." 

That  letter  was  dated  the  igth  July,  the  Feast  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul.  The  reply  was  not  long  in  coming.  Ozanam  received  on  the 
next  day  the  following  three  lines,  short  as  a  telegram  ;  it  was  a  com 
munique  of  victory  :  "  My  dear  friend,  I  founded  two  Conferences 
of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  on  the  Feast  Day  itself,  one  in 
my  College,  the  other  in  the  city." 

On  the  same  day  in  Paris,  and  on  the  same  Feast  Day  at  the  annual 
General  Meeting  of  the  Sficiety,  M.  Cornudet,  Vice- President-General, 

"The  sexton  is  preaching  to  the  priest. 


396  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

who  was  to  deliver  an  address,  requested  the  permission  of  the  meeting 
to  read  instead  a  letter,  which  he  had  just  received  from  his  colleague, 
Ozanam.  "  This  letter,"  he  said,  "  contains  the  most  arresting  and 
edifying  details  of  a  number  of  Italian  Conferences  which  our  dear 
Vice- President  has  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  lately."  The  letter 
was  received  with  every  demonstration  of  welcome. 

It  closed  with  the  following  words  :  "Far  from  finding,  my  dear 
Brothers,  matter  for  pride  in  such  expansion,  we  shall  seek  to  develop 
the  spirit  of  humility.  Grass  grows  rapidly,  but  it  does  not  cease 
on  that  account  to  be  insignificant  ;  it  does  not  say  because  it  covers 
much  ground,  '  I  am  the  oak.'  We,  too,  while  we  become  numerous, 
remain  insignificant  and  feeble  ;  we  do  not  dream  of  comparing  our 
selves  to  institutions,  which  God  has  reared  up  in  the  Church,  like 
mighty  trees  of  the  forest,  to  give  shade  and  fruit.  Let  us  be  humble. 
I  notice  regularly  that  in  Italy  as  in  France,  our  Conferences  succeed 
in  the  end  in  overcoming  prejudices  and  difficulties.  Now  everybody 
is  prejudiced  against  a  new  Society  which  thunders  in  the  index  and 
announces  ambitious  schemes.  But  what  ill  can  anyone  wish  a  few 
obscure  men,  who  do  not  propose  to  do  more  than  carry  bread  and 
consolation  into  a  few  garrets?  May  God  preserve  the  simplicity 
which  characterised  our  first  efforts,  and  by  that  sign  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  will  acknowledge  us  for  his  disciples." 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  Brothers,  I  commend  myself  to  your  prayers 
of  which  I  stand  in  need." 

Let  this  not  be  forgotten  ;  that  it  had  been  in  the  service  of  truth 
that  Ozanam  had  sacrificed  his  strength  down  to  his  last  lecture  in 
the  Sorbonne  :  "  As  for  me,  gentlemen,  if  I  die,  it  will  be  in  your 
service."  It  is  likewise  in  the  service  of  his  Association  of  Charity 
that  in  Leghorn  and  Sienna  he  breathes  out  his  last  accents  :  "  Devotion 
to  the  point  of  martyrdom,"  the  young  apostle  had  written  at  twenty 
years  of  age. 

Antignano  gave  the  invalid  some  more  good  days.  Up  to  the  end 
of  July,  Ozanam  was  able  to  walk  to  the  edge  of  the  sea  every  evening. 
He  was  able  to  go  every  morning  very  slowly  to  Mass  in  the  neigh 
bouring  Church.  It  was  a  poor  little  Church  built  in  the  fortified 
enclosure  which  protected  it  against  the  old-time  attacks  of  the 
Saracens,  the  terrible  raiders  over  all  that  beautiful  landscape. 

He  could  still  write  an  occasional  letter.  The  memory  of  Lyons, 
of  his  dear  city  of  Lyons,  of  his  friends  in  Lyons,  his  oldest  friends, 


LETTER  TO  LYONS  397 

haunted  him  with  sadness  and  reproach,  a  reproach  caused  by  his 
long  silence.  He  addressed  them  all  in  the  person  of  M.  Prosper 
Dugas*  in  the  following  note  which  did  not  wish  to  say  farewell : 

"  My  dear  friend,  it  is  a  very  long  time  since  I  have  given  any  sign 
of  life  to  my  friends  in  Lyons,  and  yet  I  have  not  ceased  to  think  of 
them.  God,  Who  is  ever  to  be  praised  and  blessed,  has  condemned 
me  to  enforced  leisure,  making  me  abandon  my  home,  my  occupation 
and  my  daily  habits.  I  have  had  to  learn  how  to  cut  out  a  good  part 
of  the  things  that  bind  man  to  earth,  and  I  have  lived  a  wanderer 
looking  for  health,  asking  it  of  the  beneficent  mountain  spas,  of  the 
sea- air,  of  the  Italian  sky." 

"  Many  of  those,  nay  all  who  love  me  in  Lyons  followed  me  into 
exile  with  their  solicitude  ;  you  have  been  anxious  about  my  health, 
you  have  helped  me  with  your  prayers.  I  do  believe  that  I  am  much 
indebted  to  the  prayers  of  my  friends,  to  the  Holy  Sacrifice  offered  up 
by  many  holy  priests.  I  attribute  to  them  the  infinite  consolation 
which  I  have  received  in  my  crosses  from  the  hands  of  God.  When 
He  visited  me  with  a  relapse  in  Pisa,  He  surrounded  me  with  the 
tenderest  care.  He  called  to  my  side  unexpectedly  the  affection  of 
many  people  to  whom  I  had  been  a  complete  stranger  the  previous 
day,  but  who  in  the  hour  of  affliction  saw  in  me  a  brother." 

"  I  have  hopes  that  such  prayers  have  taken  Heaven  by  storm,  and 
that  I  am  on  the  way  to  a  cure  that  seemed  improbable  for  so  long. 
The  lovely  weather  and  the  sea  air  have  done  me  untold  good." 

"  But  still  the  doctors'  orders  confine  me  to  the  spot  where  I  first 
showed  signs  of  improvement.  I  am  sure  that  you  would  refuse  to 
pity  me  if  you  saw  the  charming  slopes  where  I  inhale  the  Mediter 
ranean  breezes,  with  my  small,  well-beloved  family,  at  the  feet  of  the 
Virgin  of  Montenero,  who  keeps  guard,  as  at  Fourviere,  over  a  great 
Catholic  city." 

"  Yet,  my  dear  friends,  I  would  give  all  the  splendour  of  these 
Italian  skies,  all  the  perfumes  of  this  exotic  vegetation,  all  the  magic 
of  this  beautiful  language,  to  which  I  listen  with  such  great  pleasure, 
I  would  give  them  all  to  be  able  to  revisit  my  humble  home,  to  see  the 
streamlet  in  my  own  street,  the  staircase  of  my  own  third  storey,  the 
books  in  my  own  library,  and  still  more  to  shake  the  hands  of  my  own 
friends  in  Lyons." 

*See  Prosper  Dugas,  Vie  et  Souvenirs,  ch.  II.,  pages  32,  33,  Oudin  Bros.,  1878. 


398  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

The  last  letter  to  France  was  written  to  M.  Eugene  Rendu,  who 
had  announced  his  approaching  marriage  to  Ozanam.  The  reply  is 
dated  less  than  two  months  prior  to  Ozanam's  death,  and  it  is  extraor 
dinary  to  find  his  speech  so  merry  and  his  imagination  so  playful : 

'  Your  charming  letter  reached  us  near  Florence,  the  city  of  flowers, 
which  was  indeed  an  appropriate  spot  on  which  to  receive  such  a  happy 
message.  But  why  did  it  not  come  under  the  wing  of  a  white  dove  ? 
We  were  just  then,  Madame  Ozanam  and  I,  on  the  terrace  of  my 
cousin's  little  villa  below  San  Miniato,  having  at  our  feet  that  city  of 
marble  nestling  in  verdure."  Ozanam  is  replying  "  on  a  table  heavy 
with  the  perfume  of  branches  of  myrtle  snow-white  with  flowers," 
which  he  regrets  he  is  unable  to  present  to  the  fiancee,  who  would  wear 
them  with  such  charm  !  But  such  a  symbol  would  be  a  profanity  for 
Christians.  Ozanam  congratulates  his  friend  on  a  perfect  Christian 
marriage  ;  his  virtuous  youth  has  indeed  merited  the  spouse  whom 
God  has  selected  to  bring  him  happiness  and  honour.  "  Such  unions 
are  not  common,  and  only  those  who  know  them  can  speak  of  them. 
That  is  why  I  congratulate  you,  my  dear  friend.  I  rejoice  beforehand, 
as  at  a  happy  augury,  at  the  name  Amelie  by  which  you  call  your  com 
panion.  Is  it  also  our  example  which  has  induced  you  to  select  the 
23rd  for  your  wedding-day  ?  The  23rd  signifies  happiness.  The  good 
wishes  of  your  friends,  the  merits  of  your  parents,  are  weaving  a  crown 
of  happiness  for  you  which  will  never  fade." 

His  last  efforts  to  wield  a  pen  were  devoted  to  the  Ptlerinage  au 
Pays  du  Cid.  But  how  laborious  it  was  !  Ozanam  was  so  exhausted 
that  he  could  not  write  three  lines  in  succession  without  being  obliged 
to  rest  on  a  couch.  He  saw  only  very  few  friends,  such  as  the  Ferrucci. 
The  Abbe  Perreyve's  affecting  notice  of  their  young  daughter,  Rosa, 
has  introduced  that  family  to  the  knowledge  of  France.  Notabilities  of 
many  places  sought  for  the  honour  of  coming  into  contact  with  the 
renowned  Frenchman.  Ozanam  was  grateful  for  their  kindness,  but 
declined  their  homage.  One  day,  owing  to  considerations  of  health, 
he  declined  to  see  a  princely  person  who  had  come  in  a  grand  carriage 
to  pay  him  a  visit ;  the  same  evening  a  poor  young  man  from  Sardinia 
arrived  on  foot  from  Leghorn  covered  with  dust,  to  make  enquiries 
in  reference  to  the  foundation  of  a  Conference  in  his  island.  The 
invalid  welcomed  him  with  joy,  summoned  up  all  his  strength  and  kept 
Jiim  for  two  hours  by  his  side. 

Two  young  members   of   the   Leghorn   Conference,    two   brothers 


HIS  LAST  MASS  399 

Bevilacqua,  had  conceived  a  genuine  affection  for  that  great  and  holy 
friend,  to  whom  all  their  free  time  was  henceforth  devoted.  There 
was  a  continuous  express  service  on  foot  on  the  dusty  road  between 
Leghorn  and  Antignano,  for  everything  that  was  needed,  or  that 
delicate  forethought  could  suggest.  One  day  a  basket  of  his  favourite 
flowers  would  arrive  for  the  invalid  ;  on  another,  when  the  fever  was 
high,  a  supply  of  ice  ;  and  a  like  supply  the  first  thing  the  following 
morning.  When  the  illness  became  critical,  the  two  brothers  passed 
the  night,  unknown  to  the  invalid,  in  a  neighbouring  house,  and  as 
soon  as  a  light  in  the  window  notified  a  crisis,  they  came  forward  and 
placed  themselves  at  the  disposal  of  Madame  Ozanam. 

The  fishermen  and  peasants  were  also  won  over  by  the  "  pious 
stranger,"  bringing  him  their  little  gifts  from  land  or  sea,  with  those 
sweet- sounding  words  of  sympathy  and  friendship  of  which  Italian 
holds  the  secret.  Ozanam  made  a  gracious  acknowledgement. 

All  that  affectionate  anxiety,  the  close  and  continuous  attention 
of  his  doctor,  the  spiritual  care  of  his  confessor,  the  Superior  of  the 
Lazarists  in  Leghorn,  overwhelmed  him  with  gratitude.  He  re-opened 
his  last  will  in  order  to  put  on  record  their  names,  and  his  gratitude  : 

"  Antignano,  8th  August.  I  add  here  my  deep  and  sincere  acknow 
ledgments  to  the  brothers  Bevilacqua,  Dr.  Prato,  and  the  Reverend 
Pere  Massucco,  who  have  overwhelmed  me  with  kindness.  God  alone 
can  reward  them." 

His  strength  was  by  this  time  diminishing  noticeably  ;  the  limbs 
were  swelling,  and  it  was  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  they  were 
able  to  carry  him  to  the  end  of  the  little  garden.     His  two  brothers 
were  notified.     Charles,  the  doctor,  hurried  to  him  in  the  early  days 
of  August.    Nobody,  either  in  Paris  or  Leghorn,  was  under  any  illusion 
as  to  the  result.     One  can  read  in  a  letter  from  the  Abbe  Perreyve 
written  during  those  days  :  "  The  latest  news  of  M.  Ozanam  is  heart 
breaking.     Charles,  his  brother,  received  a  telegram  from  Madame 
Ozanam  four  days  ago,  stating  that  the  dear  invalid  is  in  a  state  of 
extreme  weakness.     I  cannot  express  the  profound  grief  which  that 
news  has   caused    all  who  knew   and  loved  M.   Ozanam.     What  a 
loss  to  every  good  cause,  to  religion,  to  truth  !     But  above  all,  what  a 
loss  to  me  !" 

The  great  Feast  of  the  Assumption  was  at  hand.  He  insisted  on 
attending  Church  to  hear  Mass  and  receive  Holy  Communion.  He 
declined  to  make  use  of  the  carriage  which  his  wife  had  hired  from 


400  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Leghorn  :  "  It  may  be  my  last  walk  in  this  world,  and  I  desire  that  it 
shall  be  to  pay  a  visit  to  my  God  and  His  Blessed  Mother,"  and  he  set 
out  leaning  on  the  arm  of  her  whom  he  called  his  guardian  angel.  The 
peasants,  notified  of  his  coming,  were  standing  in  groups  about  the 
Church ;  as,  deadly  pale,  he  passed  in,  every  head  was  uncovered,  and 
all  bowed  reverently ;  while  the  young  women  and  children  waved 
their  hands  to  him,  in  the  native  form  of  salutation.  He  was 
moved  to  tears. 

The  old  Cure  of  Antignano  was  also  dying  under  the  shadow  of  his 
Church.  Hearing  that  M.  Ozanam  had  come,  and  was  asking  for  a 
priest  to  give  him  Holy  Communion  before  Mass  :  "  I  shall  go,"  he 
said,  "  get  me  up."  They  dressed  him  and  helped  him  downstairs. 
He  reached  the  altar  of  his  church,  which  was  decorated  with  flowers 
and  filled  with  parishioners,  all  in  their  best  clothes  for  the  Feast. 
The  husband  advanced  to  the  altar-rail  supported  by  his  wife.  The 
old  priest,  himself  supported  on  the  arm  of  his  clerk,  came  down  from 
the  altar  and  gave  both  the  Bread  of  Life.  It  was  the  last  oc 
casion  on  which  he  discharged  that  sacred  office  ;  it  was  likewise  the 
last  Mass  at  which  Ozanam  assisted  on  earth. 

His  brother,  the  priest,  had  surprised  him  by  arriving  unexpectedly, 
never  to  be  again  parted  from  him.  The  same  day  he  drove  with  him 
as  far  as  the  edge  of  the  sea.  "  There,"  he  relates,  "  Ozanam  got  out 
and  dragged  his  steps  with  great  difficulty  to  a  little  promontory, 
where  a  seat  had  been  placed  for  him.  He  fixed  his  gaze  over  the 
vast  horizon  of  the  Mediterranean,  as  if  he  sought  to  pierce  the  im 
mensity  of  space."  That  night  the  two  brothers  watched  by  his  bed 
side  in  turn.  One  of  them,  noticing  him  in  tears  during  the  night, 
asked  him  :  "  Why  do  you  worry  yourself  ?  Be  easy  in  your 
mind.  We  shall  soon  see  France."  But  he  answered  :  "  Ah  !  my 
dear  brother,  it  is  not  that.  But  when  I  think  of  my  sins,  for  which 
God  has  suffered  so  much,  how  can  I  refrain  from  tears  ?"  On  another 
occasion,  while  he  was  also  sad,  a  gentle  voice  said  to  him  :  "  Are  you 
then  really  such  a  great  sinner  ?"  He  answered  at  once  with  em 
phasis:  "  Child,  you  do  not  understand  what  the  holiness  of  God  is." 
Ozanam  did  not  forget  the  23rd  of  the  month,  the  anniversary  of 
his  happy  marriage.  On  that  morning  he  presented  his  wife  with  a 
myrtle  branch  in  flower,  which  he  had  noted  on  the  shore  the  previous 
evening  for  that  purpose. 

It  was  on  one  of  such  days  that  he  wrote  for  her,  and  placed  on 


GOD'S  GREAT  GIFT  401 

record  in  his  will,  the  following  beautiful  farewell  verses,  to  be  placed 
after  his  death  at  the  foot  of  a  picture  after  Fra  Angelico,  which  he 
left  her  as  a  souvenir.  The  engraving  represented  angels  receiving, 
introducing,  and  welcoming  into  Paradise  the  elect,  whose  guardians 
they  had  been  in  this  world  : 

Ces  anges  attendaient,  au  sortir  de  la  terre, 
Les  elus  conn  6s  a  leur  doux  ministere. 
Toi,  mon  Ange  gardien,  tu  restes  ici-bas  : 
Ta  priere  ouvrira  le  ciel  devant  mes  pas. 
Tu  restes  quelques  jours  pour  mettre  sur  la  voie 
L'enfant,  la  tendre  enfant  qui  causait  notre  joie. 
Fais  qu'elle  pense  a  moi,  donne-lui  tes  vertus. 
Nous  nous  retrouverons  au  sejour  od  Ton  aime, 
Et  nous  echangerons  sous  les  yeux  de  Dieu  meme, 
Le  long  embrassement  qui  ne  finira  plus.* 

Ozanam  passed  those  days  buried  in  his  thoughts,  reclining  on  a 
sofa  on  the  terrace  in  the  open  air.  There  was  no  distraction  save  his 
child,  who  left  her  playthings  from  time  to  time  to  ask  a  caress  or  a 
blessing.  The  Bible  lay  open  by  his  side.  The  sacred  word  had  so 
completely  taken  possession  of  his  mind  that  he  became  oblivious  of 
his  surroundings.  There  were  some  texts  to  which  he  clung,  such  as 
the  following  form  of  consecration  of  the  sacrifice  of  himself  to  the 
Eternal  God  :  "  Lord,  Thou  hast  lent  me  this  body.  No  other  sacrifice 
whatever  could  please  Thee.  Behold  me  then,  I  come,  as  it  was 
written  at  the  beginning  of  Thy  book.  It  is  Thy  will  that  I  shall  do, 
my  God." 

One  evening  he  was  lying  on  a  sofa  on  the  terrace  contemplating 
the  sun  setting  over  the  waters.  His  wife  was  sitting  on  a  chair  some 
what  behind  him  so  that  he  should  not  see  her  tears.  She  was  ad 
miring  the  serene  tranquility,  which  reigned  over  the  features  and  in 
the  attitude  of  her  dear  invalid.  It  occurred  to  iier  to  ask  him,  which 
of  God's  gifts  he  set  greatest  store  on  ?  He  answered  without  hesita 
tion,  "  Peace  of  heart :  without  it  no  good  can  make  us  happy ;  with  it 
every  trial,  even  the  approach  of  death,  can  be  borne/' 

A  few  days  later,  as  they  were  sitting  together  on  the  same  terrace, 
listening  to  the  lapping  of  the  summer  waves  and  the  singing  of  the 

*  Translation : — 

"  Those  angels  were  awaiting  at  the  moment  of  departure  from  this  earth 
the  faithful  who  had  been  entrusted  to  their  fostering  care.  You,  my  guardian 
angel  will  remain  on  earth  ;  your  prayers  will  open  Heaven  to  me.  You  will 
remain  for  yet  a  little  while,  to  guide  the  footsteps  of  the  darling  child  who  was 
our  joy.  Teach  her  to  think  of  me,  endow  her  with  your  virtues.  We  shall 
meet  again  in  the  abode  of  love,  and  under  the  eyes  of  the^good  God  Himself  we 
shall  love  one  another  with  a  love  that  will  know  no  end." 


Ar 


402  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

birds  in  the  neighbouring  copses :  "If  anything,"  he  said,  "  can 
console  me  for  leaving  this  world  with  my  work  unfinished,  it  is  that 
I  have  never  worked  to  win  the  approbation  of  men,  but  solely  in  the 
service  of  truth." 

The  disease  became  daily  more  pronounced.  The  invalid  was 
altogether  exhausted  and  scarcely  spoke  ;  everything  pointed  to  an 
immediate  collapse.  Was  Ozanam  after  all  to  die  in  a  foreign  land  ? 
He  had  expressed  an  ardent  desire  to  see  France.  They  decided  to 
take  the  boat  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  for  Marseilles. 

The  last  day  of  August  was  the  day  fixed  for  departure.  Ozanam 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  his  daughter,  and  his  two  brothers,  passed 
out  of  the  house  in  Antignano,  the  house  of  his  suffering.  While  the 
carriage  was  waiting,  he  had  himself  half  led,  half  carried,  on  the 
arms  of  his  wife  and  his  brother  to  the  terrace  of  the  garden  over 
looking  the  sea.  He  remained  a  few  moments  in  silent  contemplation. 
Then  taking  off  his  hat  he  raised  his  hands  aloft  and  said  aloud  to 
heaven  :  "  My  God,  I  give  Thee  thanks  for  the  afflictions  and  sufferings 
which  Thou  hast  sent  me  in  this  house  ;  accept  them  in  expiation  of 
my  sins."  Turning  then  to  his  wife  :  "  I  want  you  also  to  praise  and 
bless  God  for  our  sufferings."  Taking  her  in  his  arms  :  "  I  bless  Him 
for  all  the  consolation  which  you  have  given  me." 

He  was  led  on  board,  where  he  spent  some  time  on  the  deck  sitting 
in  an  armchair,  amid  priests,  religious,  friends,  members  of  the  Society 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  who  had  come  to  bid  adieu  to  him.  Those 
adieus  had  to  be  cut  short,  he  was  obliged  to  go  down  to  his  cabin, 
where  he  was  settled  for  the  night.  His  brother,  the  priest,  passed 
the  night  by  his  bed-side. 

When  day  broke  the  vessel  put  in  at  Bastia,  where  it  stayed  some 
hours.  Advantage  was  taken  of  the  stay  to  rig-up  a  bed  on  the  deck. 
The  sea  was  like  glass,  the  air  clear  as  crystal,  the  sky  without  a  cloud. 
The  invalid  could  not  remove  his  eyes  from  the  poetic  shores  of  Italy, 
which  were  rapidly  receding  from  sight.  But  when  the  shores  of 
Provence  appeared  on  the  horizon,  a  great  joy  at  seeing  his  native 
land  was  apparent,  and  he  thanked  God  with  clasped  hands.  He  fell 
into  a  peaceful  sleep.  When  he  awoke  he  was  in  the  harbour  of 
Marseilles.  His  mother-in-law  and  other  members  of  his  wife's  family 
appeared  almost  immediately.  When  he  found  himself  with  them, 
his  troubles  seemed  to  disappear  and  it  was  almost  in  a  joyous  strain 
that  he  said  with  a  mighty  effort :  "  Behold  one  journey  completed  ; 


THE  DOTTED  LINES  SHOWS  OZANAM'S  LAST  JOURNEY. 
He  was  born  in  Milan,  he  journeyed,  ill  unto  death,  from  Leghorn  via 
Bastia  to  Marseilles,  he  died  in  Marseilles  and  was  interred  in  Paris. 


DEATH 

I  shaU  make  another,  but  I  shall  make  it  in  tranquillity.  Now  that  I 
have  placed  Amelie  in  your  arms,  God  will  do  with  me  what  He  wills  " 
He  wished  to  see  Paris,  but  that  desire  could  not  be  gratified.  He 
retired  to  bed  as  soon  as  he  reached  the  house  in  Marseilles  which 
his  relatives  had  prepared  for  him.  He  was  not  to  arise  from  it  again 
The  members  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  approached  him 
filled  with  respect ;  he  was  not  able  to  receive  them,  but  showed  that 
he  appreciated  what  they  had  done.  "Now,"  wrote  Lacordaire, 
"  that  he  had  reached  the  land  of  his  ancestors  and  of  his  works,  he 
appeared  to  suffer  no  more.  All  traces  of  apprehension  had  dis 
appeared  ;  his  figure  exhibited  a  calm,  which  belonged  neither  to  life 
nor  to  death  ;  nothing  could  equal  the  serenity  of  his  mind  and  of  his 
features.  He  spoke  little,  but  he  had  a  pressure  of  the  hand,  a  smile, 
a  sign  for  those  whom  he  loved.  Feeling  his  end  approaching,  he 
himself  asked  for  the  last  Sacraments.  As  the  priest  who  attended 
him  enjoined  him  to  entrust  himself  to  the  goodness  of  God  without 
fear :  "  Ah  !  why  should  I  fear  Him,"  he  replied,  "  I  love  Him  so." 

He  received  Holy  Communion  with  extraordinary  fervour.  Madame 
Ozanam  then  took  his  hands  in  hers  and  together  they  made  the 
heroic  sacrifice  before  God,  the  one  of  her  husband,  the  other  of  his 
life. 

The  8th  September,  the  Feast  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
had  dawned.  There  was  no  indication  of  the  end  to  alarm  the  by 
standers  in  the  morning.  But  in  the  evening  about  half-past  seven, 
his  breathing  became  laboured  and  irregular.  He  was  seen  to  open  his 
eyes,  to  raise  his  arms,  and  to  cry  aloud  with  a  strong  voice,  "  My  God, 
my  God,  have  mercy  on  me." 

Those  were  his  last  words.  The  death  agony  commenced.  All  in 
the  room  were  kneeling.  The  next  room  was  filled  with  brothers  of 
the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  silently  praying.  His  brother, 
the  priest,  said  the  prayers  for  the  dying.  When  they  were  finished 
a  great  silence  ensued  broken  with  sobs.  The  hour  was  ten  minutes 
to  eight  in  the  evening  ;  a  deep  sigh  escaped  from  the  lips  of  the  dying 
man  ;  it  was  the  end.  Frederick  Ozanam  had  entered,  we  may  hope, 
into  the  joy  of  his  Master. 

After  a  Low  Mass  in  Marseilles,  the  body  of  the  deceased  was 
carried  to  Paris,  where  a  full  Requiem  Mass  was  celebrated  at  St. 
Sulpice.  There  was  an  immense  cortege  of  priests,  friends,  professors, 
members  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  The  body  was  de- 


404  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

posited  temporarily  in  the  crypt  of  the  Church,  until  such  time  as  it 
could,  through  the  kindness  of  M.  Fortoul,  Minister  of  Public  Worship, 
be  transferred  to  the  crypt  of  the  Historic  Church  of  the  Carmelites. 

It  is  there  that  the  body  of  Frederick  Ozanam  reposes  to-day.  Over 
his  tomb  appear  the  glorious  words  of  the  Gospel :  "  Why  seek  you  the 
living  with  the  dead  ?"* 

That  Church  receives  the  students  of  the  Catholic  Institute  for 
prayer  and  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  thus  fulfilling  the  prophetic 
wish  of  Ozanam  when  himself  a  student  on  the  15 th  January,  1831  : 
' '  I  shall  be  glad  if  a  few  friends  stand  by  me.  We  shall  unite  our  efforts 
and  found  a  Society  ;  others  will  join  us  ;  it  may  happen  that  some 
day  society  will  come  together  under  its  protection.  Then,  full  of 
youth  and  strength,  Catholicity  will  burst  upon  the  world,  and 
directing  the  rising  generation,  will  lead  it  on  to  true  civilisation  and 
happiness." 

*The  subterranean  chapel  is  dedicated  to  Jesus  Christ  Conqueror  of  Death 
and  to  the  Virgin  Mother.  Near  the  altar  the  following  Latin  epitaph  is  inscribed, 
decorated  with  pious  objects,  recalling  the  catacombs  : 

OZANAM    PIENTISSIMUS    ADSERTOR    VERI     TOTIUS     CARITATIS 

VIXIT  A.  XL.  M.  IX.  D.  XVI.  DECESSIT  DIE  VIII  SEPT.   MDCCCLIII 
AMALIA    CONJUGI    CUM    QUO    VIXIT    ANN.    XII 
ET     MARIA     PATRI     POSUERUNT. 
VIVAS      IN      DEO  ! 

In  the  upper  Church  (St.  Joseph's  Chapel)  a  second  inscription  sets  forth  the 
titles  and  merits  of  the  great  Christian  : 

A.  F.    OZANAM    VERB    CHRISTIANUS,    DOCTRINA    ET    CARITATE 

ORATOR    IDEM   ET    SCRIPTOR    EGREGIUS    ADSERTOR   VERI    STRENUUS 

SOLADITATI   B.   VINCENTII   CONDENDJE   AUCTOR   INTER   PAUCOS   PRIMUS 

DICTORUM  SCRIPTORUM  ET  VITA  ELOQUENTIA  ANIMOS  JUVENTUTIS 

AD  FIDEM  REVOCAVIT. 


MONUMENT   ERECTED   TO   OZANAM   BY   THE    SOCIETY    OF 

ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL  IN  THE  CRYPT  OF  THE  CARMELITE 

CHURCH  IN  PARIS. 


405 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

EPILOGUE. 
HIS  LITERARY  AND  CHARITABLE  LEGACY. 

TESTIMONY  TO  THE  DECEASED.— LITERARY  WORK.— CHARITABLE  WORK.— 
SOCIETY  OF  ST.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL. 

Ozanam  had  written  in  his  will :  "Do  not  allow  yourselves  to  be 
stopped  by  those  who  will  say  to  you,  'He  is  in  Heaven.'  Pray  always 
for  him  who  loves  you  dearly,  for  him  who  has  greatly  sinned.  If  I 
am  assured  of  these  prayers  I  quit  this  earth  with  less  fear.  I  hope 
firmly  that  we  are  not  being  separated,  and  that  I  may  remain  with 
you  until  you  shall  come  to  me." 

Whatever  the  deceased  may  have  said,  the  certainty  of  his  salvation 
finds  expression  in  all  the  letters  of  condolence  which  were  received ; 
through  tears,  his  friends  and  disciples  see  him  in  Heaven. 

The  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Literature,  who  did  not  lean  to  the 
side  of  belief,  saluted  in  him  an  immortal  in  the  heavens,  as  he  stood 
by  his  sarcophagus  in  a  subterranean  vault  of  St.  Sulpice :  "  Our 
consolation,"  he  said,  "  is  that  we  believe  we  hear  him  repeating  the 
words  of  the  Italian  poet :  '  Weep  no  more ;  death  is  the  beginning  of 
Immortality.  When  I  seemed  to  close  my  eyes,  I  was  opening  them  to 
Eternal  Light.'  We  could  also  say  that  he  had  been  happy  in  this 
passing  existence  ....  but  it  was  not  here,  it  was  on  high,  that 
Frederick  Ozanam  placed  all  his  hopes,  and  will  receive  his  reward." 

M.  de  La  Villemarque  described  his  consternation,  and  that  of  all  his 
household  when  they  saw  the  announcement  of  his  death.  He  wrote 
immediately  :  "I  could  only  hand  the  paper  to  my  wife  and  cry 
bitterly  ;  we  wept  together  and  could  not  utter  a  single  word.  Our 
grand-children,  who  were  present,  looked  at  us  in  amazed  silence.  .  .  . 
I  loved  him  as  a  brother,  I  admired  him  as  a  master,  I  venerated  him 
as  a  saint !  ...  In  calling  him  so  soon  to  Himself,  in  remaining  deaf 


FREDERICK  OZANAM 

.to  the  prayers  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  members  of  the  charitable 
Society  founded  by  our  friend,  God  hastened  to  make  him  taste  the 
joys  of  Heaven."  (Keransker,  i6th  of  September,  1853). 

I  have  twenty  letters  by  me  of  the  same  date  ;  from  his  former 
masters  in  the  Lyons  College,  the  Abbe  Noirot  and  M.  Legeay  ;  from 
his  former  comrades,  Baron  Chaurand,  Paul  de  la  Perriere,  Diifieux, 
Falconnet ;  all  place  him  in  Heaven  :  "  He  gave  his  life  for  Truth', 
for  Faith,  for  Charity  ;  are  we  at  liberty  to  complain  ?  I  doubt  it.'' 
Another  :  "His  years  were  so  full,  that  it  can  be  said  of  him  that  he 
knew  how  to  live  two  lives  in  the  space  of  one.  His  crown  should  be 
bright." 

M.  Leonce  Curnier  :  "  As  for  me,  I  never  think  of  Frederick  without 
an  inclination  to  invoke  his  assistance.  The  aureola  of  sanctity  which 
surrounded  him  in  my  eyes  while  he  lived,  has  lost  nothing  of  its 
splendour.  I  seem  to  see  him  in  Heaven  between  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 
and  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  whose  faithful  disciple  he  was.  I  love  to 
represent  to  myself  the  altar  at  which  I  kneel  set  off  with  his  picture  ; 
and  the  devotion  which  I  feel  for  him  for  years  can  only  increase 
with  life." 

Distinguished  ecclesiastics  wrote  to  Madame  Ozanam :  "  Rest 
assured,  Madame,  that,  if  his  death  is  a  mystery  of  frightful  suffering, 
it  is  equally  a  mystery  of  inexpressible  love  ;  if,  at  the  command  of 
such  love,  you  are  separated,  it  is  to  give  him  to  God,  the  oblation  of 
a  saint,  who  will  be  an  ornament  in  Heaven." 

Montalembert  also  looked  to  Heaven  confidently  for  the  soul  of  him, 
of  whom  he  wrote  as  follows  from  Roche-en-Breny  :  "  He  leaves  to 
us,  as  to  you,  Madame,  the  almost  complete  certainty  of  his  immediate 
and  eternal  happiness.  It  is  not  for  one  like  me  to  speak  of  God  and 
of  Heaven  to  a  soul  still  flooded  with  the  light  which  radiated  from 

the  death-bed  of  such  a  Christian  as  he When  you  pray  for 

him  and  with  him,  when  you  seek  his  soul  in  the  serene  regions  in  which 
it  awaits  yours,  please,  Madame,  remember  me  at  least  once,  offer 
him  the  pious  grief  of  an  old  friend,  of  an  old  fellow-member  of  the 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  of  an  old  soldier  in  the  same  cause,  who 
will  forget  neither  his  instruction  nor  his  example." 

The  Abbe  Perreyve  uttered  cries  of  grief  over  his  grave,  which  are  at 
the  same  time  cries  of  enthusiasm  and  appeal :  "  God  knows,  Madame, 
that  I  have  prayed  Him  most  earnestly  to  accept  the  useless  days  of 
my  life,  in  exchange  for  a  few  days  of  such  a  precious  existence 


CLERGY   AND    MEMBERS  407 

Yes,  I  loved  him  dearly  ;  death  cannot  touch  that ;  it  cannot  break  the 
links  uniting  an  immortal  soul  with  those  whom  it  will  love  for  ever. 
The  impulses  of  our  hearts  follow  him  where  he  is  living  by  the  side  of 
God.  We  shall  consult  him  there  ;  we  shall  learn  from  there  the 
secret  of  a  charity  which  was  invincible  and  humble  ;  let  us  go  thither 
for  inspiration  from  that  Christian  wisdom,  which  seeks  and  loves  God 
even  to  martyrdom.  May  my  prayers  be  heard  !  May  I  cultivate  in 
my  life  as  a  priest,  some  of  the  virtues  of  his  apostolate." 

The  Abbe  Perreyve,  passing  through  Marseilles,  soon  after  on  his 
way  to  Italy,  was  led  to  the  room  in  which  Ozanam  breathed  his  last. 
He  knelt  in  prayer  there.  He  cultivated  devotion  to  his  holy  master. 

The  following  lines  are  from  a  holy  Priest  in  Rome,  Fr.  Philip  de 
Villefort,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  :  "  He  was  a  just  man,  in  the  meaning 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  he  was  of  the  number  of  those  who  spent  them 
selves  doing  good,  he  had  such  a  long  and  holy  career  in  such  a  short 
time  !  His  whole  life,  the  secret  of  which  he  concealed  from  us,  but 
which  the  eyes  of  the  Just  Judge  devined,  his  precious  death  in  the 
practice  of  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity,  all  combine  to  give  you  the  only 
possible  consolation.  I  shall  continue  to  pray  for  him,  though  I  feel 
sure  that  he  is  in  possession  of  eternal  glory." 

M.  Adolphe  Baudon,  President-General,  forbade  a  panegyric  of  the 
first  founder  at  a  meeting  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  Such  a 
eulogium  would  have  been  repugnant  to  the  tradition  and  the  spirit 
of  the  Society.  "  Ozanam  is  no  longer  with  us,"  he  said,  "  to  remind 
us  of  our  primitive  spirit ;  he  shortened  his  brief  life  to  radiate  that 
spirit  from  his  scene  of  suffering.  Let  not  his  memory  and  his  example 
be  effaced  in  our  minds  ;  that  is  the  truest  homage  which  we  could  pay 
him,  being  persuaded  that  from  heaven  he  sets  a  higher  value  on  such 
fidelity,  than  in  those  rare  qualities  of  genius  which  were  his  glory  in 
the  eyes  of  men.  That  fidelity  constitutes  his  merit  and  ensures  his 
happiness  in  the  sight  of  God." 

M.  Cornudet,  presiding  over  the  General  Quarterly  Meeting,  on  the 
8th  December,  1853,  spoke  as  follows  :  "  Three  months  ago  this  very 
day,  my  dear  Brothers,  Ozanam,  our  well-beloved  Brother,  gave  back 
his  beautiful  soul  to  God  ;  the  Church  was  celebrating  that  same  day 
a  Feast  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  to  whom  he  had  been  greatly  devoted  ; 
we  find  consolation  and  hope  in  such  a  coincidence.  The  Society  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  loses  in  Ozanam  its  guide  and  its  model,  one  of 
the  men  of  the  age  who  have  rendered  the  greatest  service  to  the 


408  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Catholic  cause.  He  has  been  snatched  away  in  the  flower  of  his  years 
in  the  fullness  of  his  genius,  of  his  virtues,  of  his  influence  on  youth. 
But  do  not  those  very  virtues,  the  loss  of  which  we  deplore,  throw  a 
light  on  the  Divine  Will,  which  would  not  have  him  wait  longer  for  the 
supreme  reward  ?  He  is  no  longer  present  amongst  us,  but  his  sancti 
fied  memory  remains,  and  with  it  the  belief,  that  the  all-powerful 
prayers  of  that  splendid  friend  of  the  Society,  who  knows  it  needs, 
will  have  a  more  beneficent  influence  than  even  his  voice  and  his 
example." 

Francois  Lallier  declared  that  his  spirit  is  henceforth  with  Ozanam  in 
heaven  :  "  His  death  and  that  of  my  father,"  he  wrote  to  La  Perriere, 
"  have  changed  the  course  of  my  thoughts.  I  continue  to  do  the 
same  things  as  before,  but  I  do  not  do  them  with  the  same  spirit." 

Lamache,  thirty  years  later,  wrote  :  "  To  follow  out  Ozanam's 
testamentary  wishes,  I  have  not  ceased  to  pray  for  the  repose  of  his 
soul ;  but  I  am  quite  convinced  that  the  prayers  which  were  directed 
to  Purgatory,  went  straight  to  Paradise,  and  descended  on  him  who 
offered  them." 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  French  Academy,  M.  Guizot,  a  Protestant, 
forgetting  the  many  controversies  which  he  had  had  with  Ozanam' 
stood  in  respect  before  him  whom  he  describes  as  :  "  The  model  of  the 
Christian  man  of  Letters,  the  ardent  lover  of  Science,  and  the  steady 
champion  of  Faith,  who  was  patient  and  meek  in  long  and  fatal  suffer 
ing,  who  was  snatched  away  from  the  purest  joys  of  life,  but  who  was 
already  ripe  for  Heaven  as  well  as  for  glory." 

When  Ozanam's  letters  were  published  in  1866,  the  same  unison, 
in  a  more  religious  key,  was  heard.  Dr.  Plantier,  Bishop  of  Nimes, 
saluted  in  him  "  The  angel  of  charity,  the  athlete  of  faith.  He  was 
a  saint."  The  Cardinal  of  Bordeaux  stood  amazed  at  "  that  pure 
glory  of  sanctity,  in  which  that  star  was  lost  to  our  mortal  sight." 

But  before  hearing  the  princes  of  the  Church  I  should  have  recorded, 
with  respect,  the  words  of  consolation  and  hope  which  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  Pius  IX.  addressed,  in  memory  of  his  well-beloved  son  of  1847, 
to  the  young  widow,  his  dear  daughter  in  Jesus  Christ,  in  a  Brief  of 
the  igth  November,  1853  :  "  We  felt  profound  grief  on  hearing  of  the  1 
premature  death  of  your  distinguished  husband,  and  your  letter, 
which  reached  Us  on  the  20th  of  October  last,  re-opened  Our  grief. 
But  all  the  zeal  and  devotion  of  your  dear  husband  for  Our  holy  religion, 
which  you  justly  recall,  gives  Us  a  great  confidence  of  his  eternal 


;  ,/ 


LITERARY   WORK  409 

salvation.    We  shall  not  cease,  nevertheless,  to  aid  him  with  Our 
prayers  to  the  God  of  mercy." 

Distinguished  strangers  are  to  be  seen  from  time  to  time  in  Paris, 
bishops,  prelates,  laymen,  who  ask  to  be  allowed  to  visit  the  burial 
place  of  the  founder  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.    They 
come  from  South  America,  the  United  States,  Canada,  Australia,  from 
countries  in  Asia  and  Europe.     Some  place  wreaths  at  the  base  of  the 
simple  monument,  others  give  an  offering  for  its  upkeep.    What  all 
retain  and  carry  away  from  their  pilgrimage,  is  the  inscription  which 
they  read  on  the  marble  slab,  the  words  of  the  angels  to  the  saints  at 
the  Sepulchre  of  Christ :  "  Why  seek  you  the  living  with  the  dead  ?" 
Ozanam,  when  he  quitted  this  life,  left  behind  him  two  classes  of 
works,  one  literary,  the  other  charitable.     We  propose  to  devote  a  few 
lines  to  the  former,  a  few  pages  to  the  latter,  to  show  the  scope  of  each. 
Of  his  great  literary  work,  the  history  of  civilisation  through  Chris 
tianity,  scientifically  developed  in  his  lectures,  splendidly  inaugurated 
by  the  publication  of  his  Germanic,  then  necessarily  postponed  by  the 
course  of  his  malady,  there  only  remain  outlines  in  his  own  notes  and 
in  the  shorthand  notes  of  the  course  ;  outlines  occasionally  brilliant,  for 
Ozanam   could  sketch   as   the  most  skilled   would  wish  to  paint. 
His  friends,  masters,  and  disciples  did  their  part— a  matter  of  religious 
duty  for  some,  of  affection  for  others — to  re-construct  at  least  the 
portico  of  the  monument,  of  which  some  finished  pieces  had  been 
given  to  the  Correspondant. 

It  was  the  joint  work  of  a  number.  M.  Ampere  took  the  initiative, 
assumed  the  direction,  and  did  the  greatest  share  of  it.  The  Abbe 
Noirot,  the  Abbe  Maret,  M.  de  Montalembert,  M.  Lenormant,  M. 
Mignet,  M.  Egger,  M.  Heinrich  collaborated,  each  in  his  own  particular 
sphere  of  knowledge.  That  collaboration  was  carried  out  with  the 
co-operation,  and  under  the  supervision,  of  Madame  Ozanam.  No 
name  could  better  guarantee  to  the  reader  the  scrupulous  exactitude 
with  which  the  whole  work  was  carried  out. 

Ozanam's  most  recent  literary  composition,  Un  Pelerinage  an  pays 
du  Cid  appeared  in  October,  1853,  a  month  after  his  death.  M. 
Hippolyte  Rigault,  a  man  of  refined  taste,  reviewed  it  as  follows  : 
"  Those  learned  and  pious  pages  are  a  faithful  reflex  of  the  two  great 
passions  of  the  author's  soul,  God  and  Science.  Inspired  as  if  written 
extempore,  sad  as  a  farewell,  they  are  a  type  of  that  literary  career, 
which  had  been  commenced  with  such  brilliancy  and  so  soon  cut 


410  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

short  by  death.  A  destiny  touching  beyond  all  others !  M.  Ampere 
has  said  with  delicacy  :  In  leaving  masterpieces  unfinished,  the  beauty 
of  hope  and  the  sadness  of  regret  are  mingled." 

The  same  pen  announced  the  approaching  publication  of  the  Complete 
Works,  called  for  by  the  city  of  Lyons,  made  possible  by  a  public 
subscription,  and  carried  out  by  the  leading  members  of  the  French 
Academy.  The  work  appeared  in  1855,  with  a  Preface  by  Ampere, 
in  which  he  established  the  order  of  the  volumes  of  the  literary 
history  in  the  times  of  the  Barbarians,  following  Ozanam's  own  plan, 
from  his  V*  Siecle  and  his  Germanic  to  Francois  d'  Assise  and  to 
Dante,  in  the  I3th  century,  leaving  a  chasm  of  ten  centuries  which 
remained  unbridged.  The  explorer  had  fallen  at  the  first  stage. 

On  the  28th  of  August,  1856,  the  French  Academy  awarded  to  la 
Civilisation  chretienne  au  V*  siecle  thus  re-constructed,  the  prize  of 
3,000  francs,  which  had  been  recently  established  by  M.  Bordin  with 
the  formal  intention  of  rewarding  work  of  the  "  highest  literary  merit." 
It  was  on  that  ground  especially  that  "  the  person  and  the  work  of 
Ozanam  had  gained  all  their  votes."  M.  Villemain,  the  permanent 
Secretary,  proclaimed  the  distinction  in  the  following  terms  :  "  Con 
sisting  of  twenty  lectures  and  notes,  this  outstanding  work  of  literary 
taste  is  the  spontaneous  product  of  a  mind  elevated  by  the  only  great 
influences  in  this  world,  Virtue,  Liberty,  and  Knowledge  ;  and  trans 
figured  in  advance  by  the  glory  from  on  high,  which  Christian  Faith 
and  Christian  Hope  promise." 

But  as  the  author  was  no  more,  the  presentation  of  the  Prize  to  his 
wife  and  child  was  a  new  and  touching  feature.  "It  was  but  equit 
able,"  continued  the  Report,  "  that  the  reward  which  he  had  deserved, 
should  be  conferred  after  his  death,  and  should  be  handed  over  in  full 
to  those  whom  he  loved  dearer  than  self.  The  young  widow  and  child 
of  M.  Ozanam  will  receive  as  a  last  gift  from  his  hand,  the  Prize  due 
to  his  rare  genius,  the  unfinished  monument  to  that  ardent  vocation 
which  cost  them  so  dear." 

The  complete  works  were  enriched  in  1862  by  the  addition 
of  the  translation  of  the  Purgatorio.  Of  the  seven  years  which 
Ozanam  had  devoted  to  the  study  and  interpretation  of  the  Divina 
Commedia,  four  had  been  given  to  the  study  of  the  Purgatorio.  "A 
special  predilection  attracted  Ozanam  to  those  verses  which  celebrate 
the  rehabilitation  of  guilty  man,  and  which  are  replete  with  heavenly 
consolation  and  hope."  It  was  in  those  terms  that  M.  Heinrich 


CHARITABLE  WORK  4II 

introduced  that  translation  to  the  public,  being  "  homage  done  to  a 
dear  memory,  and  gratitude  rendered  to  a  master  whom  he  had  dearly 
loved." 

I  have  compared  Ozanam's  literary  work  to  an  edifice  ;  I  shall 
compare  his  charitable  work  to  a  mighty  tree,  a  comparison  that  has 
been  drawn  many  times  already.  The  former,  man's  work,  remains 
unfinished  when  the  man  disappears  ;  the  latter,  which  bears  within 
itself  the  germ  of  life  planted  in  it  by  God,  will  not  cease  to  increase 
when  he  who  planted  it  shall  have  disappeared. 

The  activities  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  are  boundless. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  devote  sufficient  attention  to  them  in  the  course 
of  this  work ;  it  is  now  fitting  to  set  them  forth,  a  matter  of  some  little 
time.     Pere  Monsabre  spoke  of  the  matter  in  the  following  terms  to 
thousands  of  members  at  Notre  Dame  :  "  You  had  outlined  for  your 
selves,  gentlemen,  at  the  beginning  of  your  ministry  of  charity,  only 
the  visitation  of  the  poor  in  their  homes  ;  and  God  alone  knows  how 
much  the  poor  owe  you  for  that.     But  Christian  love  in  contact  with 
want  allows  itself  to  be  drawn  far  beyond  its  first  designs.     What  do 
I  not  find  in  your  reports  for  the  last  half  century  ?     Foundations  of 
creches  and  homes,  patronages,  adoption  of  orphans,  protection  of 
the  forsaken,  instruction  for  street  arabs,  for  apprentices,  for  children 
of  workpeople  and  for  children  of  prisoners  ;  establishment  of  clothing 
depots  and  linen  workrooms  ;   savings  banks   and  rent  treasuries, 
economical  public  bake-houses,  dispensaries,  medical  and  legal  aid ; 
recreation  centres,  libraries,  schools,  Catechism  classes  and  lectures  ; 
the  family,  the  home,  Christian  marriage,  business  matters,  sickness, 
death,  burial  of  the  poor,  to  what  does  not  your  charity  extend  ? 
Whenever  a  public  calamity  is  announced  the  whole  Society  is  moved. 
It  was  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of  francs  that  it  forwarded  contribu 
tions  for  the  victims  of  the  inundations  of  the  Rhone  and  the  Loire, 
of  the  conflagration  at  Limoges,  of  industrial  crises,  of  Syrian  massacres 
and  of  Algerian  famines." 

Notwithstanding  all  that  the  preacher  had  specified  he  has  not 
nearly  exhausted  the  list.  He  has  not  mentioned  work  for  soldiers, 
for  prisoners,  for  the  sick,  for  travellers,  for  refugees,  for  repatriating 
exiles,  Christian  trade  unions,  the  secretariat  of  the  people,  presents 
for  the  poor,  the  shy  poor,  penitentiaries,  Holy  Families,  etc.  There 
are  so  many  other  religious  moral,  social,  civilising  societies  of  which 
the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  has  been  the  founder,  the 


412  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

inspirer,  the  co-operator  ;  such  as  the  Catholic  Press,  Pilgrimages 
to  the  Holy  Land,  Catholic  Committees,  Catholic  circles  of  work 
men.  Then  there  is  the  League  of  Instruction,  Peter's  Pence, 
Leagues  of  Prayer  and  of  religious  defence,  etc.  Can  we  ever 
forget  that  during  the  terrible  Seige  of  Paris,  or  on  the  fields 
of  battle,  it  carried  help  and  displayed  heroism  in  the  service  of  the 
wounded,  of  the  starving,  of  the  prisoners  ?  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  such  as  Ozanam  had  conceived,  such  as  it  has  functioned 
for  three  quarters  of  a  century,  is  not  a  local  society,  it  is  the  Society- 
General  of  Charity.  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  is  the  in 
exhaustible  mother,  fruitful  in  all  good  works. 

Inexhaustible  in  the  nature  of  its  works,  in  extent  it  is  universal. 
A  delegation  of  four  hundred  brothers  attended  the  promulgation 
of  the  Dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  in 
Rome  in  1854,  thirteen  months  after  Ozanam's  death.  The  President- 
General  was  able  to  state,  in  a  report  presented  at  an  Audience  by 
Pope  Pius  IX.,  that  the  Society  had  established  1,532  Conferences 
in  twenty- two  years,  that  all  were  animated  with  the  spirit  of  their 
glorious  patron,  and  were  scattered  throughout  twenty-nine  different 
States.  France  and  its  Colonies  counted  889  Conferences,  Italy  78, 
Germany  160  (of  which  134  were  in  the  Kingdom  of  Prussia),  Belgium 
148,  Holland  92,  the  British  Isles  80.  Branches  were  to  be  found  in 
every  country  in  Europe,  except  Russia,  Denmark,  Norway  and 
Sweden.  They  were  beginning  to  make  way  in  the  East.  There  were 
Conferences  in  Turkey  and  Egypt.  In  the  New  World,  Nova  Scotia, 
the  United  States,  Mexico,  Canada,  opened  their  immense  territories 
to  this  charity.  It  was  to  be  found  in  Australia,  having  been  carried 
thither  by  English-speaking  Brothers.  There  were  not  less  than 
50,000  families  being  visited  and  assisted.  Its  turnover,  which  did 
not  reach  2,500  francs  in  its  first  year,  now  exceeded  2,500,000  francs 
a  year. 

With  its  admirable  organisation,  by  the  multiplicity  and  variety 
of  its  services,  by  the  fruit  of  salvation  which  it  carried  within  it  and 
spread  around  it,  by  the  spirit  animating  it  and  the  spiritual  exercises 
which  were  its  driving  force,  by  the  moral  transformation  which 
followed  everywhere  in  its  footsteps,  by  the  reconciliation  of  all  grades 
of  society,  high  and  low,  the  Society  appeared  that  day  to  Pius  IX. 
crowned  with  those  works.  It  was  to  the  foot  of  the  Pontifical  Throne 
that  the  Society  came  in  a  filial  and  humble  spirit  to  lay  that  crown. 


KNIGHTS   OF  JESUS  CHRIST  413 

Pius  IX.  was  much  moved  when  he  arose  to  deliver  an  allocution, 
which  would  confer  on  these  new  apostles  of  the  charity  of  Jesus  Christ 
the  same  mission  that  had  been  given  to  the  twelve  :  to  work  miracles 
of  conversion,  curing  lepers,  restoring  sight  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the 
deaf,  raising  the  dead  to  life.  The  Abbe  Mermillod,  who  was  present  at 
that  audience,  reproduced  the  scene  as  follows  in  his  own  picturesque 
way  :  "  Do  you  remember,  gentlemen,  the  General  Meeting  at  the 
Vatican  on  the  5th  of  January,  1855,  when  Pius  IX.  rose  and  said  : 
"  My  sons,  my  sons,  I  consecrate  you  Knights  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
world  does  not  believe  in  preaching  nor  in  the  priesthood,  but  it  still 
believes  in  charity.  March  on  to  the  conquest  of  the  world  through 
the  love  of  the  poor." 

The  Society  celebrated  its  Golden  Jubilee  in  May,  1883.  After  its 
suppression  by  the  Imperial  Government  in  1861  it  recovered  by 
degrees  the  ground  which  it  had  lost.  I  shall  not. re-state  the  statistics 
of  Conferences  in  1883.  Two  facts  stand  out  in  the  Report  of  M. 
Paul  Decaux  :  "  Our  Bulletin,  like  our  charity,  knows  no  frontiers. 
It  is  published  in  seven  languages  :  in  French  at  Paris,  in  English  at 
Dublin,  in  German  at  Cologne,  in  Italian  at  Genoa,  in  Dutch  at  the 
Hague,  in  Flemish  at  Ghent,  in  Spanish  at  Madrid  and  at  Mexico." 
The  second  fact  is  apparent  from  the  contrast  of  the  following  figures  : 
"  On  the  ist  January,  1855,  the  number  of  Conferences  had  been 
1537  anc*  tne  turn-over  had  gone  up  to  two  and  a  half  million  francs. 
On  the  ist  January,  1883,  the  annual  Report  for  the  preceding  year 
showed  receipts  amounting  to  close  on  nine  millions."  Charity  was 
over- running  the  world. 

The  Golden  Jubilee  gathering  of  1883  brought  to  Paris  from  both 
hemispheres  the  most  representative  gathering  which  had  ever  been 
seen  in  the  Society.  It  would  have  made  Ozanam  tremble  with  joy. 
Pere  Monsabre  gave  expression  to  the  thought  in  Notre  Dame  on  the 
5th  of  May  :  "  Jubilemus  Deo,  let  us  rejoice  in  God.  Such  is  the  cry 
of  our  heart,  gentlemen,  after  half  a  century  of  noble  efforts  and  divine 
graces.  That  cry  will  bring  joy  to  the  thousands  of  just  men,  who 
belonged  to  our  Society,  in  the  graves  in  which  they  are  sleeping,  or 
rather  in  heaven,  whither  they  have  preceded  you.  '  We  have  surely 
a  Conference  in  Paradise/  wrote  Frederick  Ozanam,  '  for  since  we 
began  our  work,  more  than  one  thousand  of  our  members  have  gone 
the  way  of  the  better  life/  How  many  more  during  fifty  years  ! 
Heaven  must  be  en  fete." 


414  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Ozanam  was  not,  of  course,  present  at  that  meeting  ;  but  Lallier 
and  Le  Taillandier  were  there  to  represent  him.  Italian  Brothers 
came  to  greet  them. 

At  the  close  of  that  general  Congress  of  Conferences,  the  Decree 
was  pronounced  by  Cardinal  Guibert  by  which  Leo  XIII.,  at  the 
request  of  the  French  episcopacy  made  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  patron 
of  all  Societies  and  Associations  of  Charity  in  France,  and  subsequently 
throughout  the  Universal  Church. 

In  the  following  year  a  still  greater  Act,  pronounced  ex  Cathedra, 
bore  witness  urbi  et  orbi  to  the  special  confidence  which  the  Church 
and  its  Head  had  in  that  vast  Society  of  Charity.  The  Holy  Father 
opposed  its  beneficent  action  to  the  deadly  and  impious  influence  of 
Freemasonry  and  other  secret  societies.  The  pontifical  Encyclical 
Humunum  Genus  runs  as  follows  :  "In  this  connection,  venerable 
Brothers,  we  could  not  pass  over  in  silence  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  which  has  given  such  admirable  examples,  and  which  has 
deserved  so  well  of  the  masses  of  the  people.  The  efforts  of  its  members 
are  directed  solely  to  the  help  of  the  poor  and  the  unhappy  through 
charitable  works,  which  they  perform  with  wonderful  wisdom,  and  not 
less  admirable  humility.  But  the  more  this  Society  hides  the  good 
which  it  is  doing,  the  better  suited  it  becomes  to  practise  Christian 
charity  and  to  assuage  the  misery  of  men." 

Let  us  complete  the  account  of  the  rise  of  the  Society  by  stating 
shortly  that  in  1911-12,  when  this  work  was  written,  if  the  statistics 
of  the  Society  cannot  be  stated  exactly,  it  can  at  least  be  said  with 
certainty  that  the  number  of  100,000  active  members  has  been  exceeded. 
The  number  of  Conferences  throughout  the  world  is  7,500,  and  the 
annual  value  of  the  assistance  given  exceeds  fourteen  million  francs. 

God  conferred  a  great  grace  on  the  Society  founded  by  Ozanam  on 
the  rock  of  orthodoxy,  in  keeping  it  faithful  to  truth  whole  and  entire, 
through  all  the  tortuous  ways,  wherein  so  many  minds  have  been  led 
astray  and  lost.  On  every  occasion  that  Rome  has  spoken  to  nations 
during  the  last  century,  the  Society  answered  at  once  with  submission, 
as  Vincent  de  Paul  had  done  in  his  own  day.  On  the  eve  of  the  de 
finition  of  the  doctrinal  Infallibility  of  the  Pope,  the  President  General 
was  the  first  to  pledge  his  faith  :  "  I  long  ardently  for  the  decision  of 
the  Council,"  wrote  M.  Baudon,  "  convinced  beforehand  that  it  can 
not  be  other  than  true,  I  subscribe  to  it  blindly.  I  only  ask  that  it 
may  be  not  merely  truth,  but  the  whole  truth.  I  cannot  admit  that 


NECESSITY  OF  THE  SOCIETY  4I5 

submission  is  not  yielded  to  it.    If  some  men  or  some  countries  do 
not  see  their  way  to  submit,  it  is  because  they  are  not  Catholic/' 

He  had  written  similarly  on  the  appearance  of  the  Encyclical  Quantd 
Curd  and  the  Syllabus,  condemning  some  of  the  tendencies  of  youth  : 
'  They  must  give  them  up.  When  the  Pope  takes  the  trouble  to  warn 
us  solemnly  to  avoid  the  doctrines  condemned  by  this  great  Act,  it  is 
our  duty  to  submit,  not  only  in  thought  but  in  fact,  in  the  daily  practice 
of  our  lives.  I  have  done  so,  and  I  believe  that  God  has  blessed  my 
submission  for  He  has  shown  me  truths  of  the  highest  order  which  I 
had  not  hitherto  understood."*  The  Church  knows  then  that  she 
can  count  on  such  men  led  by  such  chiefs.  I  am  not  surprised  that 
Pius  X.,  in  later  times,  following  the  lead  given  by  Leo  XIIL,  declared 
to  the  Bishops  of  the  New  World,  as  of  the  old,  "  that  he  had  no  more 
ardent  desire,  than  to  see  the  Society  of  the  Brothers  of  Ozanam  and 
the  sons  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  spread  throughout  the  universe." 

As  a  matter  of  fact  this  Society  never  appeared  more  necessary 
than  in  the  present  unhappy  time,  for  none  answers  better  to  our  needs, 
and  to  our  numberless  ills.     In  a  time  of  struggle  between  the  classes 
and  the  masses,  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  it  reconciles  them  in 
justice  and  in  charity.   In  a  tune  of  division  it  creates  unity,  in  a  time 
of  hatred  it  generates  love.     You  may  say,  this  is  a  time  of  the  triumph 
of  democracy  ;  weU,  that  Society  does  more  for  the  good  of  the  people 
than  you,  it  knows  and  understands  the  people  better  than  you,  loves 
them  better,  honours  them  more,  touches  them  more  nearly  than 
you.     You  may  say  this  is  the  reign  of  Liberty  and  you  wish  the  Society 
to  be  lay  ;  it  is  so.     This  is  the  reign  of  Equality  :  you  speak  the  word, 
it  does  the  thing,  bending  low  before  the  poor  in  humility,  to  raise 
them  up  to  God  by  charity.     This  is  the  reign  of  Fraternity  ;  the 
Society  is  a  family  ;  the  members  call  one  another  brother,  and  those 
whom  they  assist  are  their  brothers.    Do  you  not  then  see,  that  this 

*Life  of  Adolph  Baudon  by  the  Abbe  Schall,  p.  389.  Ozanam,  himself  so  loyally 
and  nobly  orthodox,  must  have  approved  from  on  high  of  his  friend  Lallier  on 
the  following  occasion.  Notwithstanding  ministerial  prohibition,  the  Ency 
clical  was  officially  promulgated  by  Dr.  Jolly,  Archbishop  of  Sens,  in  his  own 
Cathedral  on  the  22nd  of  February,  1865.  Lallier,  President  of  the  regional 
State  Court,  himself  opened  a  subscription  list  to  present  to  the  courageous 
pastor  a  bust  of  Pius  IX.  in  Carrara  marble.  He  came  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
Catholics  of  Sens  to  make  the  presentation  amid  the  clergy  assembled  in  the  great 
Seminary.  Lallier  read  an  address  which  is  at  once  a  declaration  of  principle, 
a  legally  framed  protest,  and  a  most  explicit  and  strongly-worded  profession 
of  Catholic  belief.  He  had  it  printed  and  circulated.  Sens,  impr.  Duchemin, 
gr.  in-8°,  22  p.,  1865. 


416  FREDERICK  OZANAM 

Society  is  in  sympathy  with  every  noble  ideal,  just  as  it  responds  to 
every  need  of  the  present  time  ? 

It  ministers  to  material  needs,  moral  needs,  social  needs,  but  above 
all  to  urgent  religious  needs  which  dominate  all  others.  Religion  pure 
and  undented  in  the  sight  of  God  consists  in  this,  says  St.  James  :"  To 
visit  the  poor,  orphans  and  widows  in  their  tribulation,  and  to  keep 
oneself  unspotted  from  the  uncleanness  of  the  time."  "  To  love  God 
with  all  one's  soul,  that  is  the  first  commandment,"  said  the  Lord  ; 
"  to  love  one's  neighbour  as  oneself,  that  is  the  second,  which  is  like 
unto  the  first.  Behold  the  law  and  the  prophets."  Now,  is  not  all 
that  the  Rule,  the  work,  and  the  end  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul? 

Finally,  it  does  more  than  unite  men  to  one  another,  it  unites  them 
to  God.  As  well  as  being  a  Society  of  Charity,  it  is  a  society  of  Faith 
and  Piety,  and  a  school  of  Truth.  In  it  men  believe  and  pray  and  give. 
I  salute  it  alternately  by  the  three  names  of  home,  sanctuary,  and 
school  for  teaching  great  ideals. 

But  you  may  say,  it  is  old  ?  No,  it  is  not  old,  if  you  mean  by  that 
term  superannuated,  withered;  but  it  is  old,  meaning  thereby  ex 
perienced,  powerful ;  old  and  ever  new  ;  as  with  all  things  immortal 
and  divine.  It  is,  I  admit,  not  modern,  in  the  sense  that  a  thing  is 
the  fashion  for  a  particular  time,  or  in  a  particular  country.  But  it  is, 
and  continues  to  be,  young  with  eternal  youth,  with  the  youth  of 
Charity  that  knows  not  decay  :  Caritas  non  excidit.  On  its  divine 
side  it  dates  from  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount :  "  Blessed  are  the  Poor  "  ; 
on  its  human  side  from  Mount  St.  Genevieve,  on  which  eighty  years 
ago  a  few  young  men  of  twenty  years  of  age  said  to  themselves,  "  Let 
us  do  as  Jesus  Christ  did,  Let  us  go  to  the  Poor." 

You  then  who  long  for  Associations  of  youth,  why  do  you  not  aim 
at  rejuvenating  it  with  young  recruits  ?  It  was  thought  out  and 
constituted  originally  by  young  men  for  young  men.  You,  our  leaders 
and  pastors,  who  are  calling  everywhere  for  the  formation  of  a  chosen 
band,  where  will  you  find  elsewhere  a  more  reliable  body  of  men  of 
faith,  of  good  men,  and  of  men  of  God  ?  That  chosen  band  is  not 
waiting  to  be  created,  nor  to  be  born.  It  exists.  It  possesses  its  con 
stitution,  its  organisation,  officers  and  councils,  its  machinery  for 
development  and  expansion.  It  has  proved  itself,  it  has  adapted 
itself  to  every  good  work  during  the  last  sixty  years  ;  it  has  filled  the 
world  with  good  works.  It  possesses  a  history,  composed  of  great 


UNITY,  STRENGTH,  PEACE,   AND   LOVE  417 

benefits  conferred  and  sublime  examples  given.  It  has  been  planted 
beside  the  living  waters,  it  has  its  roots  embedded  in  the  rock.  It 
has  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  for  a  patron,  and  Ozanam  for  a  model,  the 
Pope  for  father,  the  Church  for  Queen.  It  is  unity,  it  would  be 
strength ;  it  is  peace,  it  is  love.  Living  everywhere  it  would  be  Salva 
tion.  Let  us  belong  to  it,  let  us  go  to  it,  for  it  goes  to  the  people,  it 
goes  to  God,  because  it  does  Good,  because  it  wills  Happiness,  because 

it  leads  on  to  Heaven. 

Gruson,  Villa  Jeanne  d'Arc, 
8th  December,  Feast  of  Mary  Immaculate, 
1911  ;    3rd    Edition,    23rd    April,    1913, 
Centenary  of   the  birth  of  FREDERICK 
OZANAM. 


A2 


APPENDIX 

TWO    UNPUBLISHED    LETTERS   OF   FREDERICK   OZANAM 
TO  HIS  MOTHER.* 

PARIS,  2yrd  July,  1836. 

.  .  .  Apart  from   private   visits,   we  have   a  general  meeting- 
place  for  seeing  each  other,  viz.,  our  Conferences  of  charity.     Last 
Tuesday,  the  Feast  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  we  all  assembled  in  the 
morning  at  Mass,  in  the  Church  of  the  Lazarist  Fathers,  and  in  the 
evening  at  M.  Bailly's  house  to  hear  the  reports  on  the  different  Works, 
to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  various  Conferences,  etc.     The  parish 
priest,   Father  Demante,   Professor  in   the  Law  School,   M.   Binet, 
Professor  of  Astronomy  at  the  College  of  France,  and  a  few  other 
gentlemen,  who  had  been  invited  for  the  sake  of  their  offerings,  at 
tended  the  meeting.     The  reports  show  that  the  Society  comprises 
about  200  members  visiting  300  poor  families,  and  distributing  every 
year  upwards  of  4,000  francs  in  relief  to  the  poor  at  their  homes  in 
the  four  quarters  of  Paris.     Furthermore,  we  have  an  apprenticeship 
house  for  the  printing  trade,  where  we  house,  feed,  and  instruct  ten 
poor   boys,    mostly   orphans.     Some    charitable   persons   contribute 
towards  the  pension  for  each  of  them  ;  nevertheless,  the  establishment 
costs  us  about  250  francs  a  month.     They  are  taught  printing  in  M. 
Bailly's  fine  workshops,  and  some  of  our  members  give  them  lessons 
in  writing,  arithmetic,  Bible  history,  etc.     A  priest,  a  friend  of  ours, 
teaches  the  boys  Catechism  ;  there  are,  indeed,  two  of  them  more 
advanced,  to  whom  he  teaches  a  little  Latin,  which  is  necessary  nowa 
days  to  be  engaged  as  proof  reader,  and  even  as  a  compositor  in  the 
best  printing  establishments  in  Paris.     These  boys  are  looked  after 
and  cared  for  by  a  good  man  and  his  wife,  who  have  no  children  of 
their  own,  and  who  are  delighted  with  their  adopted  family.    The 
husband  is  employed  in  an  office,  the  wife  has  no  occupation  ;  we  give 
them  apartments  free  and,  in  addition,  a  small  bonus  in  money.     On 
the  Feast  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  we  gave  an  excursion  and  a  treat  to 
these  little  boys  which  astonished  and  delighted  them.     Nevertheless, 
when  we  first  founded  this  work,  it  seemed  to  me  a  great  act  of  madness, 
for  we  had  only  180  francs.     Providence  has  provided.     Now  I  am 
strongly  convinced  that  in  the  case  of  a  charitable  Work,  we  should 
never  be  anxious  about  pecuniary  resources,  they  will  always  come. 

"  Some  of  our  colleagues  have  been  appointed  by  the  President  of 
the  Civil  Tribunal   to  visit  boys  on  detention,   at  the   request    of 

*Taken  from  the  Bulletin  of  the  Society. 


420  APPENDIX 

their  parents.  Our  Brothers  do  what  they  can  for  them  ;  they  teach 
them  a  few  lessons  every  day,  but  it  is  a  very  hopeless  task.  Those 
unfortunate  little  fellows  are  corrupted  to  the  very  core,  the  majority 
of  them  at  least,  and  the  time  of  detention  not  exceeding  three  months, 
it  is  impossible  to  eradicate  their  bad  habits.  However,  we  continue 
sowing,  leaving  to  God's  care  to  fructify  the  seed  in  His  own  good  time. 
If  we  have  no  consolations  in  that  direction,  we  have  some  in  other 
ways.  For  instance,  several  dying  persons  were  induced  to  make 
their  First  Communion.  Some  persons  who  had  been  living  together 
a  long  time,  were  led  to  be  married  in  the  church  and  before  the  civil 
authority. 

"  I  speak  to  you  freely  of  all  those  Works  because  I  know  they  will 
interest  you,  and  because  I  myself  have  had  only  a  small  share  in 
them.  Nevertheless,  as  the  Works  are  those  of  my  friends,  they 
belong  to  me,  too,  in  the  sense  that  we  are  associated  together.  In 
this  business  of  charity  to  which  they  have  been  pleased  to  admit  me, 
I  put  in  a  little  and  take  out  a  great  deal.  It  is  not  so  with  Chaurand, 
who,  not  satisfied  with  taking  a  very  active  part  in  our  works,  labours 
also  for  others  not  less  worthy. 

"  The  Government  and  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  have  been 
informed  of  the  existence  of  our  little  Society,  and  have  shown  marked 
approval  of  it.  We  have  among  our  colleagues  one  peer  of  France, 
noblemen,  distinguished  artists  ;  one  musician  who,  a  month  ago, 
drew  the  whole  of  London  to  his  concerts  ;  Government  clerks,  ex- 
St.  Simonians,  engineers,  lawyers  in  abundance,  physicians,  students, 
small  shopkeepers,  and  even  shop-hands.  The  only  two  things  that 
are  common  to  all  are  youth  and  rectitude. 


"  PARIS,  Tuesday,  nth  April,  1838. 

"  I  have  again  found  our  last  year's  works  of  charity  strong  and 
active,  viz.,  six  established  Conferences,  fourteen  boys  in  the  house 
of  apprenticeship,  and  ever  and  always  M.  Bailly,  who  does  so  much 
good  while  appearing  to  do  so  little.  Last  Sunday,  the  Feast  of  the 
Good  Shepherd,  was  one  of  the  Festivals  of  the  Society.  So,  in  the 
morning  we  assisted  at  a  Mass  celebrated  at  the  foot  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul's  shrine,  by  His  Grace  the  Archbishop.  We  joined  in  prayer 
with  our  Brothers  of  Lyons  and  of  the  other  provinces  who  were  pray 
ing  at  about  the  same  hour.  In  the  middle  of  the  day  a  lottery  was 
held  in  the  presence  of  a  brilliant  gathering  ;  it  brought  in  3,600  francs 
for  our  adopted  children.  In  the  evening  a  general  meeting  of  all  the 
Conferences  was  held,  at  which  reports  were  furnished  by  the  six 
Presidents ;  accounts  were  given  of  our  Conferences  in  the  provinces, 
and  I  was  the  spokesman  for  Lyons.  Matheron  was  also  there.  It 
was  a  beautiful  and  a  happy  day 


APPENDIX  42I 

LETTER  OF  FREDERIC  OZANAM  TO  M.  LUCIEN  PERRET 

ARCHITECT.* 

PARIS,  ^th  April,  1851. 
MY  DEAR  FRIEND, 

Madame  Ozanam  and  I  wish  to  thank  you  for  your  beautiful  present 
and  the  kind  letter  which  accompanied  it.  You  praise  too  highly 
the  little  we  have  desired  to  do,  not  indeed  for  you,  but  for  your  cata 
combs.  They  are  ours,  too,  or,  rather,  they  belong  to  all  Christians, 
and,  as  such,  it  is  we  who  ought  to  be  grateful  on  seeing  our  Christian 
antiquity  revived  with  such  distinction  by  your  skilled  pencil.  When 
we  visited  Rome  in  1847,  we  looked  around  especially  for  the  early 
centuries  of  the  Church,  seeking  for  them  in  the  mosaics,  in  the 
primitive  churches,  and  in  the  cemeteries  of  the  martyrs  ;  and  we  ex 
perienced  there,  especially  at  St.  Agnes',  emotions  capable  of  charming 
away  the  greatest  and  most  exquisite  grief.  There  we  enjoyed 
moments  of  infinite  sweetness,  but  such  moments  were  fleeting,  and 
we  said  to  ourselves  that  they  should  be  seized,  for  they  would  return 
no  more. 

You,  dear  friend,  have  restored  and  permanently  fixed  for  us  those 
dear  and  sacred  hours  !  On  beholding  again,  in  your  delineation,  the 
pictures  ^pf  the  "Good  Shepherd,"  the  "Girl  Praying"  and  the 
"  Virgin,"  we  have  experienced  anew  that  consolation  the  secret  of 
which  is  known  only  to  God  and  to  the  Saints.  The  blessing  of  God 
on  you  for  the  good  you  have  done  to  us  and  for  what  you  will  do 
to  other  souls  better  than  we  are. 

Your  St.  Cecilia  will  remind  us  of  what  we  owe  to  your  friendship  ; 
the  beautiful  head  on  whose  brow  is  the  martyr's  crown,  this  patroness 
of  Christian  art  will  teach  us  that  we  must  place  at  the  service  of  Jesus 
Christ  everything  that  could  give  joy  to  this  earth.  Let  me  tell  you 
that  you  anticipated  my  sweetest  thoughts  in  giving  me  the  picture 
of  a  soul  that  I  know,  a  soul  full  of  harmony  and  love  whom  God  has 
placed  by  my  side  to  be  the  comforter  of  my  life  and  the  inspiration 
of  my  studies. 

But  I  am  far  removed  from  St.  Valerian.  How  my  weakness  keeps 
me  behind  those  brave  Christian  souls  of  ancient  days,  behind  you,  my 
dear  friend.  You  pray  as  well  as  you  draw,  so  you  can  add  another 
precious  gift  to  the  one  you  have  already  given  us  by  granting  me  a 
place  in  your  prayers.  Yes,  ask  for  me  peace,  peace  for  a  poor  heart 
that  does  not  belong  sufficiently  to  God,  and  that  will  be  agitated, 
variable  and  restless  until  it  will  have  found  the  peace  of  your  sub 
terranean  Rome.  Adieu,  dear  friend,  I  thank  you  sincerely. 


*This  letter  is  an  unpublished  one.  We  are  indebted  for  its  publication  to 
the  kindness  of  M.  Laurent  Laporte,  Frederic  Ozanam 's  son-in-law.  (From 
the  Bulletin  of  the  Society). 


422  APPENDIX 

TO  HIS  BROTHER  CHARLES.* 

April  20,  1840. 
MY    DEAR    BROTHER, 

After  three  days'  travelling  and  a  halt  of  twenty-four  hours  at 
Sens  with  my  friend  Lallier,  I  arrived  at  Paris  on  Holy  Thursday  in 
rather  good  condition.  My  room  was  waiting  for  me,  and  it  was  soon 
full  of  old  acquaintances,  who  celebrated  my  arrival  right  cordially. 
I  spent  the  solemn  days  with  \his  little  familiar  group,  and  yesterday, 
Easter  Sunday,  I  was  at  the  common  try  sting-place  of  all  those  that 
are  dear  to  me,  in  the  arms  of  Him  before  Whom  Lyons,  Rome,  and 
Paris  are  all  one,  embracing  in  His  immense  love  the  living  and  the 
dead.  I  was  then  intimately  united  with  you,  with  Alphonsus,  with 
my  aunt  and  all  hers,  with  my  poor  and  well-beloved  parents,  all 
united  together  under  the  kiss  of  peace  of  the  Lord 

Good-bye,  my  dear  brother.  Persevere  in  that  wisdom  and  good 
ness  which  form  our  joy  :  serious  application  as  regards  the  intellect ; 
brotherly  friendship  as  regards  the  heart ;  and  above  all,  piety, 
religion,  virtue.  There  you  have  in  few  words  your  own  happiness 
and  ours. 

March  18,  1850. 

Enjoy,  my  dear  friend,  these  grand  sights  (Vesuvius,  Naples,  etc.). 
How  we  should  wish,  Amelie  and  I,  to  repeat,  in  your  company,  the 
trip  to  Vesuvius,  and  tread  under  foot  the  lava,  the  ashes  and  the  fire, 
to  turn  round  once  again  and  look  on  the  sparkling  sea,  the  windings 
of  the  bay,  the  islands  that  give  it  life.  Above  all,  how  we  should 
wish  to  follow  you  on  the  day  when  you  will  have  the  honour  of  kissing 
the  feet  of  the  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ.  Oh  !  put  us  together  with  your 
self  at  his  knees  ;  ask  of  him  his  most  affectionate  blessing  for  a  family 
in  which,  you  can  tell  him,  he  is  tenderly  loved.  If  he  speaks  to  you 
of  France,  and  above  all  of  the  youth  in  the  schools,  answer  with 
brevity  and  modesty,  as  a  young  man  to  whom  it  does  not  belong  to 
judge.  But  try,  above  all,  to  make  it  clear  that  our  country  is  better 
than  its  reputation  ;  refer  to  the  Conferences  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul, 
the  sermons  of  Notre  Dame,  everything  that  proves  that  amongst  us 
faith  and  charity  are  alive.  Be  sure  to  tell  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  of 
the  tremor  of  pious  eagerness  that  shook  all  that  Christian  youth  last 
year,  when  it  was  believed  that  the  Pope  was  coming  to  France,  and 
with  what  joy  they  shall  see  him  restored  to  Rome  and  taking  up 
again  the  blessed  work  of  his  first  years. 

It  is  certain  that  on  Easter  Sunday  the  Pope  will  give,  either  at 
Naples  or  at  Portici,  the  blessing  "  Urbi  et  Orbi."  Do  not  miss  that 
beautiful  ceremony. 

*  Extracts  taken  from  the  Bulletin  of  the  Society  and  published  with  the  kind 
permission  of  Ozanam's  family. 


APPENDIX  423 

April  6,  1850. 

„ On  the  other  hand,  to  all  those  who  will  speak  to  you  of 

France,  say  that  the  country  is  not  lost ;  and  that  in  this  city  in  which 
the  late  elections  caused  such  consternation,  Easter  was  celebrated 
with  extraordinary  calm  and  a  wonderful  increase  of  faith  and 

July  21,  1850. 

This  letter  seems  to  have* been  interrupted  and  delayed 

purposely  in  order  to  convey  to  you  a  sad  piece  of  news.  Monsieur 
Falconnet,  Sen.,  has  just  died  at  Bourg  at  the  age  of  66  years.  Thus 
our  family  is  disappearing,  and  those  who  knew  and  loved  our  children. 
What  a  warning  not  to  attach  ourselves  to  things  here  below  and  to 
have  our  eyes  fixed  on  the  last  meeting-place  !  But  still,  this  de 
tachment  from  the  world  must  not  be  turned  into  discouragement 
about  our  duties.  In  that  consists  the  whole  secret  and  the  whole 
difficulty  of  the  Christian  life.  We  must  think  as  if  we  were  to  quit 
the  earth  to-morrow,  and  we  must  work  as  if  we  were  never  to  leave 
it.  We  must  respect  the  earth  as  the  workshop  of  Providence,  and  our 
particular  employment  as  the  task  which  has  been  assigned  to  us. 
This  is  the  means  for  bearing  with  its  inequalities,  with  the  moments 
of  trial,  and  for  avoiding  a  certain  kind  of  depression  which  sometimes 
is  concealed  under  the  guise  of  piety  itself. 

SAN-JACOPO, 

May  20, 1853. 

....   This  does  not  mean  that  Providence  is  forsaking  me  or  that 
I  have  reason  for  complaining  of  the  Italians.     On  the  contrary,  if  I 
had  not  left  my  country  so  long  ago,  if  I  had  the  certainty  of  seeing 
it  soon  again,  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  find  a  place  of  residence 
more  agreeable  and  more  hospitable.     We  have  not  the  ocean  as  at 
Biarritz,  but  we  have  an  admirable  sea  which  changes  several  times 
a  day  ;  the  sky,  which  has  long  maltreated  us,  gives  us  at  present 
perfectly  beautiful  days,  an  excellent  sun,  tempered  with  fresh  breezes  ; 
a  landscape  green  and  flowery,  in  which  the  orange  tree  and  the  laurel 
grow  naturally,  whilst  enormous  tufts  of  aloes  rear  their  threatening 
stems.     There,  I  have  no  need  of  a  carriage  for  taking  an  excursion  ; 
I  walk  about  two  hours  in  the  day,  at  three  intervals,  without  counting 
the  halts  and  the  moments  I  spend  seated  on  the  rocks  looking  at  the 
waves  coming  in.     When,  by  tunes,  we  decide  to  trust  ourselves  to 
the  luxury  of  a  carriage,  it  brings  us  in  a  few  moments  to  some  charm 
ing  spot,  always  beside  the  sea,  where  there  are  paths  sheltered  from 
the  wind  by  great  bushes  all  adorned  with  roses.    This  place  is  rightly 
called  Ardenza,  and  every  inhabitant  of  Leghorn,  who  is  properly 
reared,  considers  himself  bound  to  take  a  drive  there  every  evening. 
Further  away  on  the  mountain  is  the  pilgrimage  of  Montenero :  we 


424  APPENDIX 

went  there  only  once.  I  could  not  think  of  climbing  on  foot  this 
steep  way ;  carriages  for  getting  up  there  cost  very  dear.  Still  we 
could  not  remain  behind  the  good  Christians  of  the  country,  who  all 
go  to  make  a  visit  there  in  the  month  of  May.  It  is  the  Fourviere  of 
Leghorn,  but  a  Fourviere  all  shining  with  marble,  gilding,  silver 
lamps,  magnificent  votive  offerings.  Nevertheless,  beside  the  gifts 
offered  by  the  gratitude  of  the  rich,  we  see  with  emotion  the  offerings 
of  the  poor :  a  number  of  pictures  representing  fishermen  in  distress, 
a  lot  of  old  clothes,  crutches  and  sticks.  Oh  !  how  glad  I  would  have 
been  to  hang  my  stick  also  in  this  sanctuary,  and  come  down  on  foot ; 
but  I  have  not  the  lively  faith  which  obtains  miracles.  The  whole 
family,  including  Marie,  took  part  in  the  excursion,  and  came  back 
with  their  hands  full  of  pictures  and  medals,  thanks  to  the  kindness 
of  the  Father  Abbot,  who  in  his  desire  to  give  a  good  welcome  to  the 
Signor  Professor,  and  to  make  us  admire  his  marbles  and  his  lamps, 
left  us  scarcely  time  to  say  our  rosary. 

We  have  no  longer  our  friends  of  Pisa,  and  I  regret  it  ;  still  the 
librarian,  Monsieur  Ferrucci,  has  already  come  to  see  us  twice.  But, 
above  all,  we  have  found  at  Leghorn  excellent  persons,  a  Conference 
of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  with  all  the  daring  of  beginners,  and  amongst 
the  members  of  this  Conference,  two  brothers,  Messrs.  Bevilacqua, 
whose  name  will  remain  in  our  hearts  as  that  of  two  accomplished 
Christians  worthy  of  the  first  centuries.  One  can  have  no  idea  of 
such  charity.  They  are  young  men,  learned,  distinguished,  one  of 
them  employed  as  an  architect,  the  other  in  the  Customs  house,  both 
of  them  very  active  visitors  of  the  poor.  Together  with  all  this,  they 
have  found  time  to  seek  out  lodgings  for  us.  At  present  they  come 
to  see  us  every  night,  only  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  in  order  not 
to  tire  me.  They  take  charge  of  our  letters  and  our  messages  for  the 
town  ;  they  have  obtained  for  us  a  goat  which  serves  as  my  nurse  ; 
two  or  three  times  a  week  they  send  to  Amelie  enormous  bunches  of 
flowers  ;  they  give  Marie  pictures  and  little  books  ;  they  come  with 
their  sister  to  take  her  out  to  visit  little  friends.  In  a  word,  they 
overwhelm  me  with  their  kindness,  and  when  I  say  it  is  too  much,  they 
answer  :  "  Oh  !  sir,  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  has  done  so 
much  good,  that  we  could  never  do  enough  for  one  of  its  founders." 
There  was  no  use  in  my  protesting  that  the  first  founders  never  thought 
of  Leghorn,  and  that  we  were  the  useless  instruments  of  Providence. 
They  will  not  lessen  their  attentions  to  us.  It  is  a  family  tenderness 
which  extends  to  everything  around  me,  and  if  Marie  were  nine  years 
older,  I  should  not  be  sure  of  bringing  her  back  with  me.  I  have 
always  thought  humbly  of  our  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  but 
really  I  am  on  the  point  of  changing  my  views  about  it,  and  con 
ceiving  a  great  idea  of  it  since  I  have  seen  at  Bayonne,  and  here,  what 
wonders  of  Christian  brotherhood  it  is  capable  of  inspiring.  Besides, 
we  are  making  great  progress  in  Tuscany.  There  are  here  more  than 


APPENDIX  425 

three  hundred  members,  active  or  honorary,  in  five  Conferences. 
On  Sunday  last  the  Conference  of  Florence  celebrated  its  aggregation 
by  a  General  Communion  ;  it  counts  among  its  members  men  of  great 
distinction,  whilst  at  Pontedera  another  Conference,  exclusively 
composed  of  shopkeepers,  does  unlimited  good  by  maintaining  a 
night-school. 

We  have  at  San- Jacopo  a  parish  priest  who  is  very  amiable  and  very 
literary,  knowing  French,  but  too  humble  to  consent  to  speak  it,  so 
that  these  ladies  are  obliged  to  carry  the  burdens  of  their  consciences 
to  Leghorn.  They  found  there  Dominican  Fathers  who  no  longer 
speak  French,  though  one  of  them,  Pere  Vincenzo,  made  his  novitiate 
at  La  Quercia  with  Pere  Lacordaire,  Pere  Aussat,  and  Pere  Tandel. 
Fortunately,  there  are  Vincentians,  whose  Superior,  the  Abbe  Mazzucco, 
is  sufficiently  at  home  in  our  language  to  understand  the  crimes  of 
Madame  Soulacroix,  of  Madame  Ozanam,  and  even  of  little  Marie. 
As  for  myself,  I  make  use  of  either  language  as  may  be  desired.  I 
had  the  audacity  to  speak  in  Italian  to  all  the  Conferences,  and  at 
Florence  my  address,  edited  by  a  brother  full  of  talent,  so  pleased  the 
readers,  that  it  was  considered  I  wrote  Tuscan  almost  like  Dante. 
In  consequence,  with  the  help  of  my  Franciscan  Poets,  I  was  named 
a  member  of  the  De  La  Crusca  Academy.  Though  I  should  be  quite 
dead  to  the  world,  this  distinction  gave  me  great  pleasure,  for  it  is 
not  bestowed  on  many.  I  was  nominated  together  with  the  Count 
Cesare  Balbo,  one  of  the  most  esteemed  and  most  learned  men  in 
Piedmont,  and  one  of  the  heads  of  the  Liberal  Catholic  School.  I  was 
very  flattered  at  finding  myself  in  such  good  company,  and  what 
completes  my  satisfaction,  I  succeed  as  a  Frenchman  to  M.  Fauriel, 
who  also  was  very  highly  complimented  at  belonging  to  the  same 
Academy,  to  which  he  had  been  raised  through  his  friendship  with 
Manzoni.  If  God  allows  me  to  return  to  literary  life,  that  title,  the 
most  honourable  that  can  be  had  in  Italy,  will  not  be  without  use  for 
me  for  the  Institute. 

These  are  sufficient  vanities  for  a  man  who  thought  himself  dead 
a  month  ago,  and  who  is  not  yet  convalescent  .... 


426  APPENDIX 

ON  THE  NUMBER  OF  MEMBERS  IN  THE  FIRST 
CONFERENCE.* 

Names  of  the  First  Members  : 

Frederick  Ozanam,  Paul  Lamache,  Jules  Devaux,  Francois  "Lallier, 
Auguste  Le  Taillandier,  Felix  Clave*  and  Monsieur  Bailly. 

In  the  absence  of  written  documents  (for  at  that  time  they  did  not 
keep  or  preserve  minutes  or  official  statements)  opinions  have  long 
differed  as  to  the  exact  number  of  members  present  at  the  first  two 
or  three  meetings.  Ozanam,  in  particular,  owing  to  his  familiarity 
with  the  scholastic  philosophers,  protested  modestly  and  playfully 
when  later  on  members  spoke  before  him  of  the  seven  founders  of  the 
Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul :  "  Oh  !  my  good  friend,"  said  he  to 
Devaux,  who,  on  meeting  Ozanam  in  Rome,  recalled  very  dear 
memories,  "  let  us  not  stop  at  the  number  seven,  because  there  are 
people  who  would  see  mystic  significance  in  that  too  !  Is  not  seven 
the  number  of  the  Sacraments?" 

Such  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  details  of  the  opening  meeting, 
that  in  the  Diary  of  a  member  of  the  first  Conference,  written  down 
daily  from  March,  1834  f°r  several  months,  the  date  of  the  foundation 
of  the  Conference  was  placed  in  "  June  or  July,  1833  (instead  of  May], 
and  the  Diarist  stated  that  he  "  believed  there  were  eight  or  ten 
members  at  that  time  "  (instead  of  seven). 

The  Abbe  Gellon,  in  a  work,  "  Three  Precursors  of  the  Catholic 
Revival,  Lacordaire,  the  Abbe  Perreyve,  Frederick  Ozanam,"  led 
astray  by  a  statement,  which  was  customary  with  Ozanam  himself, 
believed  and  recorded  that  our  first  members  were  eight  in  number. 

Finally,  Monsignor  Baunard,  the  author  of  the  Magnum  opus,  is 
not  sure  in  his  work  of  the  exact  number,  and  wavers  between  seven 
and  eight. 

According  to  every  account,  if  we  include  M.  Bailly,  the  first  members 
of  the  first  Conference  were  seven  in  number.  Their  names  were — 
Frederick  Ozaman,  Paul  Lamache,  Jules  Devaux,  Francois  Lallier, 
Auguste  Le  Taillandier,  Felix  Clave  and  Monsieur  Bailly,  [de  Lanzac 
de  Laborie,  Secretary-General  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul]. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  considered  statement  of  M.  Lanzac  de  Laborie, 
who  as  Secretary-General  of  the  Society,  had  special  opportunities 
of  reference,  and  who  took  special  pains  to  verify  them,  will  now 
definitely  prevail,  and  that  every  member  of  the  Society  will  know 
that  the  first  founders  of  original  Conference  of  the  Society  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul  were  seven  in  number,  and  that  their  names 
were  as  above  stated. 

*  Notes  taken  from  the  Bulletin  of  the  Society. 


BAUNARD,  Louis. 

OzamuR  in  his 

correspondence. 


BQ 
7091 


B3